Just Between Us
by rosesweetchild
Summary: This is a takeoff of Sophie Kinsella's I've Got Your #, Takahashi Misaki a young PT loses his engagement ring, and has his phone stolen. After finding another phone in the garbage he borrows it only to find it's owner, rich businessman Usami Akihiko would like it back yesterday. As the two find themselves more and more entangled what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

**I've always wanted to do a takeoff of a Sophie Kinsella novel. I think Misaki would make a great PT. It's obviously AU.**

Just Between Us

Chapter 1

It was ten pm, and Takahashi Misaki was on his hands and knees looking for a ring. And not just any ring, but the engagement ring his beloved fiancé Miyagi Yoh the well-known professor at Mitsuhashi University had given him; and not only was it worth at least his year's salary it was also a family heirloom and Misaki had lost it.

Everything had seemed fine. He had gone to a charity raffle with his co-workers, his wedding planner Takatsuki-san, and his brother Takahiro and his wife Manami-san. Aikawa-san had begged him to show her his ring for the fifteenth time. Okay, so he couldn't blame her. It was flawless and had a huge emerald, not to mention the smaller diamonds around the sides. Misaki blushed remembering when Yoh gave it to him. He often was silly, but he'd been so serious when he was proposing and bringing out the ring; not to mention unbelievably sexy with that gorgeous black hair, those eyes which looked at him with love and tenderness, and his strong body.

"_Misaki, this ring shows off your beautiful emerald eyes. I know we can't marry legally, but I was hoping you'd let me adopt you and become your husband. Will you?" _

Misaki had jumped into his arms. This had meant so much; It wasn't even the expense, but that he was that important to warrant a family heirloom. If that didn't say love, what did? They'd become a real family together. Not that his brother Takahiro wasn't a family. He'd tried so much to take care of him after their parents had died in a car accident when Misaki was eight. But marriage was different, even if it officially it was going to be an adult adoption.

So why oh, why had he let Aikawa-san look at his ring? Well aside from her being his boss at Physios R Us, a clinic he had worked at now for almost five years. Still. It hadn't been Aikawa-san's fault, so maybe it had been Kisa-san's? He couldn't remember who had held it last before that fire alarm had gone off and everything had gone crazy.

He was taking a quick breather outside. What he needed was one of those bear cream puff pastries that Aikawa-san loved so much. That and a mochachino and he'd be set. Because he was obviously moving into the Teito hotel, wasn't he? He had to keep looking. Going home without the ring just wasn't a possibility. Although he'd given his number to what seemed like the entire hotel staff. Maybe he should just go home and hope for the best?

Suddenly a weight had been taken off his hands. Literally. Some guy on a bicycle had just grabbed his phone. Which had the number he'd been giving to so many people to call if they found the ring, not to mention his clients' numbers, and his schedule. Okay so those were on the work computers, but still!

Misaki tried to run after him but it was impossible. It hadn't even been an expensive phone, but it was his! And it also had that limited-edition Hawaiian shirt _Za Kan_ phone strap he had worked so hard to get! It was irreplaceable!

He went back inside and hurled himself on an overstuffed chair. Could his day get any worse? Maybe he should go to the concierge and have him call his phone? But then what?

Then he noticed something in the garbage can next to his. Was he seeing things or was he really looking at an abandoned cell phone? He gingerly picked it out of the garbage, which appeared empty aside for it. That's exactly what he needed, and it had obviously been thrown out, so finders' keepers, right? So, what if there was a label on the back with Usami Industries on it?

He could hear his big brother chastising him in his head. 'Is this how I raised you? What would our parents think?' Well, that is what he might say. Well a harsher version of him. Takahiro in person was too much of a softie to say it that meanly.

He jumped. The phone was ringing. Should he answer it? Suddenly he remembered when Za Kan answered a phone in one tense chapter, pretending to be an answering machine. Misaki didn't know why but he impulsively answered the phone. "I'm sorry but your party cannot be reached. Please leave a message with your name and phone number and we will return your call." He almost said 'leave a beep' before remembering his beep would sound way too fake.

Amazingly enough, the man at the other end seemed to take the bait. Misaki found a magazine to write down the message. _May 15: Tama found a doctor. Excellent surgeon. Lock the Backdoor. Don't screw up. _What a strange message. Well it would make sense to whoever was supposed to get it and Misaki would have the message just in case. He looked through and found his temporary phone number in settings. Perfect. He just had to give everyone this number and he'd be set. And then when he got a new phone, he'd bring it back to Usami Industries. It was one of the nicer smartphones, but probably a year out of date.

He had just updated everyone the new number when a weird ring tone different from the last went off. An angry sounding man with a very low voice was on the line.

"Takada-san. Where are you?"

"Ah. Sorry, but Takada-san isn't using this phone any longer. I'll be borrowing it for just a short while."

"_Hah_? Borrowing it? This is a Usami Industries phone. So, what you're saying is you're stealing it? Who is this anyway? What happened to Takada-san?" The man seemed a little scary.

"I'm just borrowing it. I think Takada-san didn't need it anymore, because I found it in the garbage. And I'm really going to return it. It's just that- I need it! I just lost my ring and-"

"And what does that have to do with anything. This phone belongs to Usami Industries. Takada-san is- was my professional assistant and I guess she decided to jump ship during one of the biggest meetings of the year."

"The thing is there was a fire alarm and my ring got lost. It's an engagement ring and then my phone was stolen, and I already told everybody here to contact me at this this number if it's found. I'll just use it until I find the ring. Please?"

"Shit. This is a disaster. Are you still at Teito?"

"Yes. I'm at the Teito hotel. That's where I lost my engagement ring."

"Forget the ring for a moment. You can help me out with something. There's a delegation from the British government about to leave the hotel. Don't let them go."

"_What_?"

"Just do what I ask, please. The elevator isn't working and meanwhile because of a couple cultural misunderstandings a very important deal is about to fall through and 50 - no, make that 100 people are going to lose their jobs."

Well. That sounded worse than a lost ring, even if it was an heirloom.

"Okay, but how am I supposed to stop them?"

"That's your problem. I'll be there within three minutes. Just stop them until then. If you can do that, then you can borrow the phone."

"Okay - uh my name is Takahashi by the way. Takahashi Misaki."

"Just focus on stopping them!"

"Oh! Right." he hung up and ran to the main entrance and, as if by magic, he could see a whole contingent of what looked like Europeans heading to the exit. Misaki had never been one for improvising, but he hadn't won medals in gymnastic in high school for nothing. He'd always loved sports, which is what led to him becoming a physical therapist. He'd always dreamed he'd work with famous athletes, but his current position hadn't been bad at all. He'd met Yoh there after all. Yoh. He was nothing like this rude stranger he just met who didn't even bother to tell him his name.

He realized the contingent was almost out the door. He had to do something. He tried in his best English to stop them.

"Hello, Ladies and Gentlemen! I see you are leaving!" He did a backflip. "You missed the show! The gym and kendo show." Why did he say kendo? He didn't have any kendo sticks or anything appropriate to wear. "I mean judo. I'd like to do a demonstration to show you our special feelings we have for you." What the hell was he even saying?

Amazingly the head of the contingent seemed to be interested. Well this was ridiculous. How was he supposed to do judo when there was nobody to fight? Well gymnastics then. He did some somersaults and a modified cartwheel.

Then without realizing he was singing the main theme to the last _Za Kan_ movie. They seemed to enjoy his dancing, although they couldn't have understood the words.

He did another backflip and a handstand as a finale.

"We realize we might have offended you but when it comes to business, we will go upside down to make you satisfied!" Okay that was about as cheesy as possible.

Misaki couldn't believe it. They all were acting like they loved him; even taking turns shaking his hands.

The phone rang.

"Ah, sorry. I better take this." He breathlessly took the phone.

"Hi. They're still here. Where are you?"

"Stairs." Misaki turned to his right and saw one of the most handsome men he'd ever seen walking toward him with a smirk on his face. He was tall, broad shouldered, wearing a suit (well of course. He was a salaryman) and with short silver hair. Exactly his type. Well if he'd been single which he wasn't. And this guy looked so full of himself. Unlike Yoh who was only serious about Matsuo Basho. He remembered he still didn't know where his ring was and froze. He went over to the men and spoke to them for a few minutes. They all were smiling happily as they left the building a few minutes later. The man went back to Misaki.

"Thank you. You may have the phone. But only temporarily. As soon as you find your ring, you're bringing it back. And I expect you to send me all my messages as well."

"You don't look at your own emails?"

"Why do you think I have a PA? She's supposed to filter out all the trash, but you can just send me everything. I'll send you the information. What a headache."

"Ah."

"Happy hunting."

"Hunting?"

"For your engagement ring?"

"Ah. Thanks! I promise you won't regret this!"

Misaki had just enough time to watch the man head to the bank of elevators.

Usami Industries. Wasn't that one of the biggest corporations in Japan? Not that was Usami Group. They had to be connected.

He looked at his watch. If he didn't run now, he was going to miss the last train. And tomorrow he'd be meeting Yoh with or without his ring.


	2. Chapter 2

**Someone reviewed asking what kyoju means. It means professor. Somehow this always makes me think of Cujo by Stephen King. Actually that's rather appropriate for Kamijou 'demon professor' Hiroki.**

**I'm mostly staying away from Japanese for obvious reasons, but a big plot point in the novel is the main character's insecurities about her brilliant proespective in-laws. **

Chapter 2

The alarm was going off.

No. It was the phone. And this Takada-san had to be the most masochistic person alive. But was the singer really singing "Pissing the night away?" He didn't know much English, but wasn't that something you do in the bathroom? Now that he realized it, wasn't this this the ringtone that went off when Obnoxious Salaryman answered the phone? He swung his legs over his bed, sat up and reached for the phone while moving his dark brown locks out of his face. He really needed a haircut.

"Hello?"

"About time. You'd never make a good PA." What exactly was a PA and was it so important it had to be in English? Well two could play at that game.

"Well that's fine because I'm a _PT_." Because one thing he did know about English was PT was a physiotherapist.

"So, now that I'm sure you've found your ring, I'd like to make arrangements for you to drop off this one. The main headquarters are conveniently located in Chiyoda. Nevermind, I'll just have a messenger come by and pick it up. Your address?"

"Wait. You said that if I helped with that British delegation, I could borrow it and my ring hasn't been found yet!"

"Seriously?"

"Also, it might help me since you want me to forward your messages if you told me your name."

"This is ridiculous. I don't have time for this."

"Please! This ring is a family heirloom of my fiancé's! If I don't find it, I'm in big trouble. And my future in laws are scary!"

Usami san sounded disinterested and impatient. "Oi. What are they? Yakuza?"

"Even worse! Intellectuals."

Brilliant intellectuals. Yoh's father, Miyagi Arata was a Literature professor at Teito who lived and breathed Genji, as in Hikaru Genji the main character from the famous _Monogatari Genji_.

Yoh's mother, Miyagi Rei, was also at Teito as a Literature professor but an English one. They'd even jointly written a paper they published comparing Genji to a famous work Misaki had never heard of. Yoh of course being a professor of Literature with his own obsessive bent on Basho fit right in. The Miyagi family lived and breathed literature. They'd even gone on literary vacations together, which perhaps explained why Yoh had thought a 'Walk in the Footsteps of Basho' tour would be at any way remotely appropriate for a honeymoon. Misaki had responded, "I didn't know Matsuo Basho ever travelled to Hawaii," and thankfully, Yoh had gotten the picture.

"Intellectuals? They're often boring, but I've never met one that was scary. Well, aside from my friend who's a Literature professor at Mitsuhashi who likes to throw things at his students when they're not listening."

"I think my fiancé is a colleague of his, by the way, and I'm just thankful he wasn't a professor in my day there! My in laws don't really scare me that way. They're just brilliant, and, well, I'm, let's just say I'm brilliant in a different area."

"Yes. You appear to be very brilliant at losing rings and stealing cell phones."

"I found the phone in the garbage!"

"I'm sure your fiancé will surely forgive you. I am right that he's a man?"

"Well, you know that there's all sorts of people in the world and, ah, well, uh, yes."

"What a long answer to such a short question. How eloquent you are." Misaki suspected he was being made fun of. Again. What an arrogant man. He looked at the time. He was starting work later than usual today, but he was supposed to meet up with Yoh first at his office. How amusing that Usami San was friends with Yoh's very scary colleague, Kamijou Kyoju.

The truth was Kamijou Kojou wasn't exactly scary to him. What did bother Misaki, not like he'd ever tell Yoh this, was the simpering fake over the top voice he put on to pretend flirt with the guy. It was the type of voice straight men pulled when they wanted to pretend to be gay. The irony in this case being that Yoh was far from straight, so what was up with that?

The annoyance wasn't even that he was jealous. It was obvious that Kamijou Kojou hated it even more than MIsaki did. It was almost as if Miyagi was clinging to an image of himself as straight, and okay, the man had spent years in love with his dead sensei, and he'd even been engaged to a woman at some point, but since then he'd only been with men. This was the real reason he hated it. It made him wonder if Yoh really wished he was with a woman.

This was ridiculous. Misaki was being irrational. Yoh just liked acting the clown. He was more the type to use humor in many situations, including awkward ones.

Still, he couldn't help himself from rolling his eyes as he heard Yoh call out to Kamijou Kojou.

"My sweet honey! Can you please help me collate these booklets for me?"

Kamijou looked unusually disgruntled and noticed Misaki first as he came running in and gave a nod as a greeting before answering. "Professor, do your own work!"

The older professor turned around, and, was he upset for a moment? It seemed like Yoh had a look of pain on his face just for an instant before smiling broadly at Misaki. And then he noticed the bandage on his hand.

"Misaki! What's wrong with your hand? Oi! Did you see a doctor?" It was cute how dramatic Yoh got. Misaki had almost forgotten how on impulsive he'd wrapped his hand in a lot of gauze last night because there was no way he could show up without the ring.

"Ah. it's nothing really, it's just I burned myself while making tea. It was so silly, but I forgot to use the tempered glass and it's all right because I'm really fine now." Well that hadn't been a lie exactly. He _had _burned himself exactly like that. When he was 10 years old and Takahiro was working late, and he really wanted some oolong tea with honey (more like honey with oolong tea; he'd always had a sweet tooth.)

"Oh, my poor Misaki. That must be so difficult for you to work! Kamijou isn't your lover a doctor? Do you think he could look at it?"

Misaki cringed. He hated taking advantage of people and it was so ridiculous. Did he even know what type of doctor this man was?

"Can you please keep my personal life out of work? Not only is he _not_ a dermatologist, he's a pediatrician. Unless Takahashi kun here is as young as he looks?"

Misaki laughed nervously. Time to change the subject! "My injury isn't as bad as it looks. It hopefully shouldn't affect my work." Because he was going to take it off as soon as he got there.

"I hope so. I'll always remember that massage you gave me the first time we met. With the special cream."

Misaki started blushing. Yoh loved bringing up the 'special cream' up since they'd become a couple only a few months before. It was bad enough that he had mentioned it to probably the worst choice of Misaki's colleagues, Kisa San, who behind the chibi face was a major pervert. After that Kisa san kept asking if the cream helped for getting into tight places. That man's brain was perpetually in the gutter!

And it had been so ridiculous. Misaki would _never _have indulged in inappropriate activities with a client. By the time they'd discovered its other use they had already become an official couple. And then it was just office sex, and office sex is _completely_ different!

"Can you two maybe flirt somewhere else? I'm trying to get some work done here!" Was it just him or did Kamijou look angrier than usual? He kept mumbling things that sounded like 'stupid idiot' and 'New York.' Oh well. Not his problem.

"Ah, Misaki, we won't be able to visit my parents Sunday. They couldn't get a flight out of Miami There's some sort of Hurricane threat. They decided to go up to New York to visit cousins there. They'll catch a flight back from there."

"Well I'm glad they didn't end up stuck in a hurricane." _I'll have more time to find the ring, and I won't have to play Genji Trivial Pursuit with them either!_

He also wouldn't have to worry about the news flash that his future in-laws weren't so excited about him, which Yoh had mentioned by accident the night before last. It turned out all the times when he'd passed on messages from them saying they wished they could meet were either fabrications or wishful thinking on Yoh's part. It didn't appear to be because of Misaki being a man. His parents had made it clear that was perfectly fine. Maybe it was because Misaki was so different from them? Well, they weren't exactly normal. Most people don't mark September 29th as the beginning of the week when Murasaki died. Or was that Genji? Wasn't it weird that he died multiple chapters before the book ended? Misaki knew that it was a national treasure, and the first novel ever written, but Za Kan made a lot more sense and was a lot more enjoyable to read and did anybody make limited edition phone straps of Hikaru Genji? No. They didn't.

At the thought of his late lamented collectable he frowned.

He headed to work and looked at his appointment schedule on his laptop. Then he took off the gauze. Maybe gloves would be better? Fancy gloves. For men. In the middle of August? second thought, maybe he'd just buy more gauze before going home.

As he waited for his first client, he forwarded more messages to Usami. Interesting. It couldn't be a coincidence that his surname was the same name as the corporation he worked out. He must be high up in the company. No wonder he didn't respond to his own email. It made sense. He'd had the air of a man used to ordering people around.

Usami San got a lot of mail that was for sure. He was also overdue for a dentist appointment. Naughty naughty. There was another email from somebody named Usui Risako thanking Takada San for handling some sort of situation and not to tell Usami Sama. Hmm. Usami _Sama_. Interesting. Something about that piqued his interest. He checked an earlier email from Takada San.

_Usui San, _

_I hope I'm not being too forward, but I think you should know that Usami San is engaged. - Takada San. _

Then he of course had to look at the previous emails, and it turned out this Usui lady had been trying to contact Usami San and he had completely ignored her. What was wrong with the man? And why was he overdue on his dental appointment. He looked like a man who was concerned about his appearance.

Then he noticed an email that was just a little freaky. He really didn't mean to read it. It's not like he was normally the type to do that sort of thing, but somehow it had drawn him in; like when you're passing an accident on the highway.

_Akihiko, _

_I can't believe you had the nerve to stand me up like that._

_Do you know how much you destroy me? No. The Great Lord Usami only thinks of himself._

_I guess you forgot all those promises you made – remember those? _

_If you don't write back are you telling me I'm like the gum on your shoe? You are aren't you. _

_Meanwhile you sit back happily ignoring the only person who can really give you what you need. _

_\- The forgotten and unloved Kyo._

Oh-kay.

Well that told him a few things. Maybe Kyo was his fiancé? And a guy? So that tall handsome but somewhat full of himself guy wasn't so straight? Of course, he would neglect to mention that point when he had asked Misaki the same thing. How _convenient_. If this Kyo was Usami's fiancé did that mean they were also pursuing adult adoption as a substitute for legal marriage? This Kyo guy seemed a little bit on the insecure side. How different from Usami San, who radiated confidence. Not like Misaki knew him or anything. He really needed to stop being so nosy and just send the emails.

His first client showed up. He was a new patient. At least this as one area in his life where he felt confident. He loved physical therapy and how he was able to make a difference in people's lives. And he met so many different types of people so that also made it interesting.

"He looked at the chart in front of him as a tall bespectacled dark-haired man walked in. Usami Haruhiko he read. Usami? Seriously? Could he and Usami San be related? Maybe he was born in the fall and this Haruhiko guy was born in the spring. And if their parents were Fuyuhiko and Natsuhiko it would be just perfect! Not like that would _ever _happen in real life of course.

Unfortunately for Misaki's patient, somebody on a bicycle had ran into him and his right leg had taken significant damage. It looked like he'd be needing therapy for some time. It went as well as it could be although the poor guy was obviously in pain. He had been cooperative though and promised to do his homework. Misaki would of course know if he did anything when he came back two days from now.

The rest of the day went quickly. In between patients Misaki sent off more mail to Usami Akihiko. On a whim he sent him a message.

_Usami San, I hope I've been sending your mail to your satisfaction. My ring still hasn't been found unfortunately, but I will let you know as soon as I do! By any chance are you related to Usami Haruhiko? Thanks for your patience! :) _

_Am related. Just send the emails. _

How abrupt.

He looked at his watch. He'd had a last-minute cancellation which meant 45 minutes until his next client. Maybe it was time for coffee. And kuma cream puffs.

"Anyone want coffee and pastry?" He yelled out.

"Can you get me some dorayaki?" Kisa San. What a surprise. The man ate so much dorayaki he was going to turn into one. He imagined a dorayaki with arms and legs and a little chibi Kisa head on top complete with his raven hair parted in the middle, those big dark brown eyes and that innocent look on his face, like he wasn't really a major perv and started giggling.

"I'll take kuma cream puffs and a hazelnut coffee," Aikawa said as she passed by. Aikawa San. She loved those cream puffs more than he did. She was sporting jeans and a light blue buttoned-down blouse. "Oh no, Misaki! You still haven't found your ring?"

"No and I was bad. I told Miyagi San it was a burn. It's bad to lie to your fiancé, right?"

"Yes, but I'd probably do the same thing. The ring will turn up, Takahashi kun, don't worry so much!"

Misaki really shouldn't have lied to Yoh, but it would be all fixed when the ring was found, and nobody would know the truth. He ran to get the treats. Luckily, they were only a block away from one of the best bakeries in town.

He settled in with his coffee and pastry and amazingly enough, the mail for Usami san just kept coming in. Misaki didn't understand it. There were so many emails sent over again due to Usami san not responding to the original emails, and even when he responded they were about as short as possibly, as if he was in a contest on how little he could get away with writing.

There was the charity event at a winter festival they wanted him to take part in. Not that Misaki really was paying _that_ much attention or anything, but if there was a conference in Kyoto that you'd registered for, how much difficult could it be to respond to someone asking you when you expected to get in, especially when Usami San was one of the speakers for the first day. If it had been Misaki going to a fancy conference in Kyoto speaking on new advances in facilitating mobility he would have found a way to answer the freaking email!

"Takahashi kun, I forgot to tell you this, but due to a legality, we have to have a discussion." Misaki looked up to see not only Aikawa san but Kisa san as well standing over him. A discussion?

"It's called an impartial hearing. Well, except that in our case it's more like a partial hearing." Kisa San seemed just a little too jovial right now.

"Ah? Aikawa San? I'm not sure what happened but I'm so sorry! If one of our clients is not satisfied-"

"Oh, Misaki, relax! It's just a formality. Nothing's going to happen. The report's just a legality. The client I need to speak to you about will sound very familiar to you. I do believe you know," Aikawa flipped back her brown pony tail and looked down at her paper like she was looking up the name, "Miyagi Yoh?"

Misaki found himself laughing nervously. "What are you talking about, Aikawa san?" His boss had steered them into the conference room along with the treats and coffees of course.

"Misaki's in trouble now!" Kisa san chimed in as Aikawa closed the door.

"Kisa san, the only reason you're here is legally we're supposed to have two people. Would you like me to ask Kirishima san to come in instead?" Kirishima san, jointly owned Physios R Us with Aikawa san.

"No. It's fine! I'll be good!"

"Okay. So, let's see here." "Miyagi Yoh came in complaining of wrist pain due to an accident with, " she stopped to look at her notebook, "a pile of oversized reference books." She furrowed her brows and continued. "Interesting, and now I remember why I asked you here instead of Kirishima san. The originally scheduled therapist was one Kisa Shouta. However, it ended up being Takahashi Misaki instead."

"Yes, he did a favor for me and switched, and to think if it had been me, I might be the one engaged right now."

Misaki usually liked Kisa san's sense of humor but this was too much. "He flashed Kisa san a quick glare and then said sweetly, "and if I'd been spending all my free time at Marimo Books do you think maybe that nice handsome man with the piercings would have gone for _me_?" Kisa san turned to glare at Misaki. _Well, don't act like you're after my man_, Misaki thought as he kept smiling.

Aikawa looked awkwardly back from Misaki to Kisa and straightened her notes. "I think we're getting off subject. The reason for this meeting is that dating clients is officially against company policy."

"Yes, but at first we were just therapist and client!"

"Which is why Miyagi Kyoju told me he knew you were the one the first time he saw you?"

Crap. Why did Yoh have to be so vocalto all the _wrong_ people? And it was a good thing that Kisa san wasn't a judge, because he was taking this way too seriously.

"He might have felt that way, but he never said or did anything until we were close to be finished with his therapy. And then, well, things just happened. It's not like I went into work thinking which guy I could get. Unlike _some_ people I know."

Because Kisa San used to keep a schedule of all the half marathons in the area and volunteered his services as a therapist so he could get extra close to any gorgeous fit guys. He was always going on about how a lot of wealthy men participated in marathons and how he was planning on marrying, well, getting adopted by one of them. In the end he fell for a penniless art student.

"Be nice, Michan! I met a lot of interesting people there."

"I'm sure you did!"

Aikawa frowned and not for the first time did she remind him of his strictest teacher in middle school.

"Gentlemen, can we stick to the subject, please. Misaki, your statement is that you were professional throughout your interactions while Miyagi Kyoju was in therapy?"

"Yes, Aikawa san."

"Alright." She scribbled some notes. "We all sign here, and we're done. "She pointed to the bottom and gave Misaki a pen and with one perfectly manicured hand grabbed a cream puff. "Phew. I hate this stuff; So stressful." So stressful? For a moment there Misaki had thought his job was on the line!

"No problem, Aikawa san."

Kisa frowned. What was up with him today? "This was so not a disciplinary hearing. How boring. Oh well. Back to work."

"My life isn't your entertainment, Kisa san!" Misaki yelled after after Aikawa had disappeared down the hall.

Which was ironic, because lately Misaki had been finding Usami san's life entertaining. So maybe he was being hypocritical?

Like This Kyo san without a last name. Now he had sent an email to Takada san.

_Takada san,_

_I'd say this is a bit embarrassing, but unfortunately, you've already been around for enough arguments to know the truth about Usami san and myself. Still. I hope you will be amenable to printing out my email and putting it on his desk?_

His email address is from ikyo No wonder Takada ended up dumping the job so quickly, and Marukawa as in Marukawa Shoten the publishing company? Well it was an improvement from them both working at the same corporation. That could be awkward.

Misaki knew he shouldn't read the attachment and he wasn't going to. Somehow it just opened.

_Akihiko_-

_Is it so hard for you to just pick up the phone and call me for shit's sake? _

_I know what it is. It's your jealousy. Because I'm doing what I wanted to do with my life and you're stuck working for your asshole father._

_Isn't it time you stopped taking this crap on me, the one person who truly loves you? Oh wait! You don't give a shit about that do you, because you've managed to live your entire freaking life as an emotionless, cold uncaring jerk. Are you even a human being? _

_-You know who_

_PS I used to think you wanted me. All those times on your desk and in the conference rooms when nobody was around? Now I know you were just messing with me._

This guy's picture had to be in the dictionary under drama queen.

Although maybe it went both ways? It seemed farfetched, but maybe Usami san sent responses as dramatic and ridiculous as his fiancé did? They probably got together had fabulous makeup sex afterward. On office desks. Misaki found himself blushing. He had come a long away from when he was eighteen when peck on the cheek from his crush had sent him reeling, but he still blushed easily. He'd probably be 40 and still blushing. Oh well.

Before he knew it, Misaki had finished with his last client and on a whim decided to see just how expensive an emerald heirloom ring could be. A quick google search would tell him all he needed.

Very expensive as it turns out. His eyes grew big as he looked at the rings. 3.5 million Yen. 2.8 million Yen. 4.2. million yen! Shit!

His phone rang. Niichan with his daily phone call to make sure Misaki was alright, because never mind that his 26th birthday was this summer, to Takahashi Takahiro Misaki would always be his baby brother with the emphasis on baby.

"Niiichan. I'm just about to leave work. Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine. I'm just well, I'm still a bit worried."

"Niichan, the wedding's in less than three weeks. Please try to trust me."

"I do trust you, it's just Miyagi Kyoju is so much older than you. I don't know. I can't help myself. I'm worried."

"But we've gone over this. If it's the right person age doesn't matter. And I never even think of us being 16 years apart." It was bad enough that his parents didn't seem to like him, why couldn't Niichan, who was more of a father than a brother just be happy for him.

"You're right, Misaki. It's my brother complex I guess." Well at least he has the honesty to admit it, Misaki thought.

Their conversation turned to easier things, but when they'd hung up Misaki frowned. The older Miyagis and Niichan were wrong. Miyagi Yoh was perfect for him, wasn't he? So why was he feeling so uneasy?


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Misaki loved Sunday mornings; instead of waking up to an early morning alarm, he woke up snuggling with his tall dark handsome fiancé, and today was one of those days. What a wonderful man he was engaged to. He was such a clown sometimes and yet so passionate about Literature and teaching, and so sexy when he wanted to be. It was so amazing how they'd only known each other a few months and yet here they were, an engaged couple. And soon he'd be Miyagi Misaki. Hmm. That was almost a tongue twister. No. It sounded _nice_. He just needed to… get used to it. He'd be the only one in that family who wasn't called Kyoju, though. But then again, none of them had a physiotherapy degree either.

They'd had an enjoyable night. Misaki had made dinner; he loved cooking tasty but healthful meals and Yoh was always so grateful. The last guy he'd dated could only cook cabbage apparently, and he'd done it badly, but Yoh had stayed quiet, not wanting to hurt the man's feelings. No wonder he'd looked so thin and pale when they'd first met.

Then he remembered he had to meet with Takatsuki Shinobu later. How could a wedding be this challenging to prepare? And yet every time they met there as some snag or problem. The elder Miyagis had finally made it back home and had invited both of them for dinner tonight and a game of scrabble. Well that was better than Genji Trivial Pursuit. He couldn't believe some of the questions in that game and they were so detailed and confusing. The one thing Misaki knew was that Genji had been a major player. And that was all in an era where men and women didn't talk to each other except from behind screens, yet, somehow, he'd been able to get it on with a whole bunch of women, and even a guy at one point. Who knew what Genji would have gotten up to if he had lived in modern Tokyo?

Unfortunately, nobody seemed to be interested in Misaki's musings about whether Genji would find Ni-chōme exciting or what clubs he'd frequent. So, he'd lost the game badly. Well, how he was supposed to know which flowers were blooming when Genji finally consummated his love for Fuji- what's her face?

He tried to forget that disastrous evening. Just a few more minutes snuggling with Yoh and then he'd get up.

"Misaki. You should get up now."

"I don't want to. I need more Yoh time."

Normally that would do the trick. Yoh was such a sucker for Misaki's puppy dog eyes and pouting.

"Well, I have to go to work and you have that meeting with Shinobu-kun." _Shinobu-kun_. That was kind of informal. Oh well. Their families had been close for years and Takatsuki's father was also Yoh's boss; the dean of the Literature faculty at Mitsuhashi.

Misaki reluctantly loosened his grip and sat up in bed.

"Ugh. I feel a bit nauseous."

"Ah, Misaki, don't worry if you're pregnant, because I'll be making an honest man of you soon!"

"Oh _please_." Misaki playfully swatted him as he got up to get dressed. He pulled out a drawer in his dresser and found a dark green polo shirt and chinos and matched them with his favorite bear socks and his limited-edition Halloween Za Kan hoodie to complete the ensemble. Perfect.

"You'd look cute pregnant."

"Maybe in an alternate dimension. I just hope it wasn't food poisoning. I'm so careful with food preparation though. How are you feeling, Yoh?"

"You would never poison me. And I'm feeling fine." Yoh had on his usual choice of blouse and pants although he skipped the tie because it was Sunday. Misaki frowned that he was working, and then remembered he needed to be supportive. As a tenured professor he had job stability, but there was an expectation that papers would continue to be submitted to distinguished literary journals on a regular basis, and major research which would lead hopefully to either text books or other projects. Also, Yoh was good at creating his own pressure.

Misaki made a quick breakfast of them consisting of miso soup, fish and a pickled salad he had already prepared from the day before and coffee. If Kisa-san would turn into a dorayaki, his darling Yoh whould be a tall mug of coffee.

"What's so funny."

"You transforming into a large coffee because you drink so much of it."

And over breakfast he forwarded more messages including some choice words from the Kyo guy, who thankfully was still doing well enough to send caustic messages. His emails could have been poetic in a way, except the message was a little intense for his taste.

_Akihiko- _

_Was this the life you promised me?_

_Long ago when you told me I was your everything?_

_Now you leave me in chains, the iron ripping my skin, my soul and heart torn apart_

_And you enjoy it!_

_-Kyo_

Or what about this one? It looked like Usami-san had a nice father at least although he wondered what sort of father called their sons 'sama':

_Akihiko-sama,_

_I haven't seen you in so long. I know the company is keeping you busy but if you ever are nearby, you're always welcome and I'd love to see you. I have something I wanted to discuss with you which I think you'll find quite interesting. _

_-ChiChi_

Such a sad sounding father. Misaki pictured him huddled in his chair all alone sitting in the dark. Would it kill Usami-san to visit him or at least answer his phone calls? Not that this was Misaki's business at all. Oh well. Off it went along with at least 45 other emails.

Misaki made himself a mocha, which was more like a cocoa with a little bit of coffee added in and headed over to the appointment with Takatsuki-chan. He probably shouldn't call the guy that though. It was a nice day. Suddenly the not so sweet noise of Za Kan went off again. Usami-san. Because how many times can you listen to somebody sing "pissing the night away"? And this was so fitting too. It was a short clip of Gustav, Za Kan's main antagonist cackling away. Misaki picked up distractedly.

"Hello?"

"When did Sumi Ryouichi mail Takada San?" _And good morning to you too._

"Sorry. Just a moment. Two hours ago."

"Crap. I need you to contact me right away if he mails again. The tech department is supposed to be transferring the PA emails back to me on Monday, but I'll still need you to send everything else."

"No problem." Misaki stopped himself from suggesting making a dentist appointment or spending a nice afternoon with his father. "Pinky Promise!"

"Pinky what?"

"You've never seen a pinky promise? Here I'll show you." He hung up and sent a selfie with himself smiling and his hands in a modified version of a pinky promise.

_There you go. Although it's supposed to be with both of us, but your hand wasn't available._

_Hmm. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police would find this picture very interesting._

_Ah. But you wouldn't do that would you? I really appreciate all your patience! Thank you thank you thank you! :) :) :) :) _

Before he knew it, he was seated at a cafe discussing plans with Takatsuki-san and his sweet looking assistant Yoshino Chiaki, who, when he wasn't busy working part time for Takatsuki was trying to get his foot in the door as a mangaka. Hmm, Misaki thought. Maybe this Kyo guy could get him in? It looked like he worked at Marukawa Shoten. Then Misaki remembered that 1. He didn't know this Kyo-san. 2. The guy sounded mentally unstable. It was bad enough Yoshino-san had to deal with Takatsuki-san. He didn't need to add another wack-job to the list, and 3. He really needed to focus on the wedding.

"Hi." Misaki smiled brightly to the two men and took out his notebook. It was good he had a notebook, because Takatsuki certainly didn't keep one. He seemed to look more distracted and annoyed each time they met somehow.

"So, let's see here, we have the venue, The Peninsula. Catering was next. Takatsuki you said you had a possible caterer?

"Well, the thing is unfortunately he's going to be busy. But I think it's important we discuss disposable cameras. At every table. So, the guests can take pictures."

"Ah… that's great. I just think maybe we should make sure we have a caterer first, though?"

"You don't trust me, Misaki-kun?" _Misaki-kun_? Wasn't Takatsuki the one who was almost five years younger here?

Misaki found himself nervously laughing like he always did when he either really wanted to slap somebody, or when he felt overwhelmingly awkward. He tried not to think about how often this seemed to happen when he was visiting the elder Miyagi couple.

"The thing is my brother gave me a number of the caterer he used, and I have here with me some of his price points. I think we should use them. They're also available on the date we need."

"Ah. Okay. I'll let you take care of that."

"So. Flowers?" Misaki turned to another page in his notebook. "When we left off Takatsuki-kun was going to call a few businesses?" He looked to find Takatsuki glaring at him. "So, how did that work out?"

"Unfortunately, I wasn't able to get ahold of anybody so far."

"Ah, no worries. I did. Garnet Flowers gave me the best deal. What do you think?" While he was talking Yoshino San was trying to get Takatsuki's attention with a booklet in his hand before finally Takatsuki took it.

"Oh of course. Garnet Flowers. I had Yoshino get a booklet with price points for me." Misaki frowned. The whole point for meetings was so that they wouldn't both be doing the same thing.

The rest of the meeting went in a similar manner, but why did Misaki feel like he was doing most of the work?

After he'd finished and they'd left he'd ordered another latte and gone through the messages again. Some of them for him but most were for Usami-san. Most of them his were asking if he'd found the ring yet including an apologetic sounding one from Nii-chan.

_I'm sorry about the phone call yesterday. Any luck with the ring? That must be so maddening. I hope you find it soon. Why don't you and Miyagi-san come for dinner next week? You know we love to have you and Mahiro misses his 'Mitaki.' Let me know a good day._

Usami san was still getting a lot of mail. It was almost like he let his assistant handle his life because so much went to her email. It was confusing because he'd see one message for Usami San and suddenly there's Yoh asking him to buy more rice. It was odd how much you could find out about somebody through their email though. Not that he was intentionally looking, but it was hard not to notice. Like how Usami san was an alumnus of Teito University's law department. And how he had a thing for stuffed animals and toy trains, and Misaki had never seen so many email advertisements devoted to Marimo.

It felt a little awkward seeing all these, even though he was only looking at the subject lines and passing them on, almost like he'd broken into Usami-san's apartment and was peering into his closet with all this technological intermingling. It was a good thing this was only a temporary situation.

It seemed like the majority of the people communicating with Usami-san were annoyed at how difficult it was for them to reach him So many of the emails were directed to Takada san asking if it wasn't too much trouble if Usami-san could respond to their email or call them back with no real sign of him doing that, and when he did respond it was like he was in a contest for shortest response. At the very least he could say something like 'regards' or 'much appreciation?'

And as it turned out after a cursory look at past emails that Usami san had cancelled dental appointments multiple times. Did the man want to lose his teeth?

He shouldn't even be checking this. He had a wedding to plan, but somehow just having Usami San's emails nestled in with his drew him in.

He stared at his hands. He'd be meeting his in-laws in three hours. It was time to head to the pharmacy and buy some more gauze and tape. For his burn. Even if it was ridiculous. He should at least tell Yoh, but something had stopped him.

Suddenly his phone rang. Teito hotel! Hopefully with good news about his ring.

"Hello? Takahashi Misaki here."

"Ah. Takahashi-kun. We have some news for you."

"You do?"

"Somebody did find an emerald ring, but in the rush with the fire alarm unfortunately it got mislaid. We just wanted to assure you we are working very hard to recover your ring."

"Ah. Thank you."

Misaki ran to the nearest drug store and purchased more supplies. After changing in a dressier blouse, he put on the gauze and got ready to leave for Miyagi Land. Suddenly Gustav cackled again. Usami-san.

_You didn't send the email with the attachment. _Seriously, did this guy get think the world revolved around him? Did he think he'd get a debilitating disease if he was polite? Misaki started typing furiously.

_Usami-san, I've been sending you everything I get. If something doesn't have an attachment you need to contact them, not me._

_You're the one who wanted to borrow the phone. I seem to recall you begging me to lend it to you. But if you've changed your mind, I can have a messenger come to meet you at your earliest convenience. _

_It's fine! Really. Thank you for your patience. I just thought if the attachment was so important you should reach the right people. _

_Fine. The IT people should fix this all by tomorrow. Any luck with finding your ring?_

Well, that was rather nice Misaki thought. Especially given Usami-san's 'allergy' to polite discourse.

_They just called. They found it and then lost it before they could put it in the safe deposit box!_

_Why am I not surprised? _

_You really shouldn't be. _

Suddenly Misaki felt inspired. Maybe Usami-san had some advice for about not telling Yoh or his parents about the ring? He didn't know him or the Miyagis.

_I didn't tell my fiancé or his parents yet about the ring. Do you think I should?_

_No. It's not theirs. _

_But it's their family heirloom!_

_So? Your fiancé gave it to you. Maybe not the smartest thing he's ever done, but too late now, right? The point is it's not theirs. _

Misaki decided to ignore the comment.

_You don't understand. His parents just returned from America. They just missed a freaking hurricane. I'm about to meet them at their house for dinner. And I won't have the ring on._

_Okay. That could be a problem. What's your solution so far? _

Misaki took a picture of his right hand and sent it.

_That's what you call a solution? Looks more like you're trying to do cosplay as the Mummy but ran out of supplies._ _For the record_, _this is why men should stay away from rings. _

_Plenty of men wear rings! _

And this ring had looked wonderful on me, Misaki thought and frowned. Yoh had loved it on him and said it brought out the emerald in his eyes.

_Whatever. You have too many bandages on. It looks way too overdone. Take two off and send me another picture._

Misaki stared at his hand and took off a bandage and then another, took another picture and sent it to Usami-san. Kind of silly.

_Better. _

_Thanks. _

Misaki smiled. Who knew Usami-san could be so nice even if he enjoyed ordering people around. A lot. Then he looked at the time and blanched. It was 6:35pm. He was supposed to be at his in-laws in less than hour. Forgetting his plans to change into dressier clothing he ran out the door towards the train station.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

**I wanted to make a clarification. I haven't put too many disclaimers in my fiction. I figure it's obvious what belongs to the author of the source material and what doesn't, but in this fiction where I took a novel and adapted it to the JR/SiH universe I want to make sure I'm clear that most of the plot elements are from **_**I've Got Your Number **_**by Sophie Kinsella, which I very much recommend. There are original elements of course, because why write this otherwise, and I'm using my own words, but how Usagi and Misaki text back and forth between the characters is directly from the book. **

**Also given that in the original story the main character is a woman I've had to make certain changes since Misaki, as cute as he is, is very much a man. In the fiction the main character is engaged to a professor from a very intimidating family which is why I chose Miyagi Yoh as her fiancé. Also, I sometimes change the character to better fit the JR/SiR characters although I can't deny that this Usami Akihiko is much more competent than the canon one, but he sort of has to be since he's in a high-level position at a company and this Misaki is older, more self-aware and less prudish than canon Misaki. This is an AU after all, so I've been taking some poetic license. **

Misaki checked his phone for again as he turned on to the block where the Miyagi family lived in a large upscale condominium conveniently located a ten-minute walk away from Teito University. They had taken two 2LDR duplex apartments and adapted into a large home.

His hands were sweaty, and it was ridiculous. He needed to calm down. They were was Yoh's parents, but just knowing how they really felt about him was making him nauseous_. Nii-chan, help! _He found himself thinking and then laughed. He wasn't a child anymore. He was closing in on 26, had a successful career and in less than two weeks a married man. He really needed to stop calling for his brother, even if it was only in his head. Still, the thought of a smiling Takahashi Takahiro made him feel more confident somehow.

As he turned the corner, he noticed a familiar man standing near the entry way of the building smoking a cigarette. He didn't know what screamed Miyagi Yoh about him, maybe it was his height or the black short hair or those gorgeous broad shoulders leading to a surprisingly muscular torso which Misaki loved to wrap his arms around. He was about to call out but stopped. There was something in his stance which seemed almost forlorn and so unlike his easygoing happy personality. It caught Misaki off guard. It was almost like he was waiting for somebody. Misaki went to meet him.

"Miyagi. Is everything okay?"

At the sound of his name Miyagi Yoh turned around and it was almost startling how quickly his face changed back into a smile. It reminded Misaki of when he was little, and his father would put a hand down his face and as his father brought the hand down past his smiling face his mouth turned into a frown and then when it went back up past his mouth it switched back to a smile. Misaki would giggle at the smiles and yell at his father to stop being sad at the frowns.

"Misaki. I thought you were used to calling me by my first name now."

"Oh, sorry. It's just habit I guess."

"Really? Remember in those early days when you were still my therapist how hot you looked at the clinic when you called me Miyagi Kyoju. You were quite the professional." Misaki bristled.

"That's because I was a professional, Yoh!"

"Fine. Anyway, I wanted to talk to you before you went in to see my parents. You shouldn't worry so much. They do like you. It was just a misunderstanding and maybe how short our engagement is and they're also fine with having a Shinto ceremony. They understood when I explained everything." Then he noticed the gauze on Misaki's hand. "Your burn is still bothering you? Maybe you should go have it checked?"

"It's okay. It feels a lot better. I'm glad your parents are okay with my plans. I just thought we're both Shinto families, so why are we having a ceremony with traditions that aren't really ours." That had been another complexity. Right after getting back from the states the older Miyagis had called Yoh and mentioned a reverend friend of theirs and how open minded he was. Not only was it a little too late for that given Misaki had found a Shinto priest after scouring Tokyo for weeks, not to mention they'd also purchased their black silk kimonos, but aside from that it just bothered him. His parents had a Shinto wedding and so did Takahiro and Manami, so why couldn't they?

"I know. And you're right 100%, so consider it settled and don't worry."

"I know we're not religious really. And I know two men getting married isn't exactly traditional." Misaki could feel himself blush and felt annoyed.

"Hey." Misaki looked up and felt Yoh bring him in for a hug. Misaki breathed in deeply the smell of her fiancé; cigarettes, the cologne he wore and an indescribable Yoh scent which drove Misaki wild. "What does don't worry mean to you? Everything's going to be okay and we're going to have a wonderful ceremony. Not only that but the lawyer is meeting us at the reception, and we'll be signing all the adult adoption documents there."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Everything is going to be fine."

"You really don't mind having a Shinto ceremony?"

"Don't mind? What type of ceremony do you think Basho had? I can't wait. Why don't you go in and say hi to my parents? I need to run out to the store for a couple of things."

"Alright."

Misaki smiled as he recognized the music on the stereo. Because his future in-laws were secret lovers of _Za Kan_. Or at least of the soundtrack. It had to be. Misaki visualized the scene when Misaki's favorite chef managed to prepare a five-course meal while simultaneously dispatching the very shady Gustave in the final showdown. Misaki visualized the chef dumping pasta into a strainer while yelling out, 'This ends now!' That movie was perfect in its originality, pacing and in sticking to the manga plot, although they messed up on how long Za kan had learned in France. It was 3 years, not 1 and a half, but nobody was perfect.

Before he could say anything, Yoh's mother flew down the stairs as if she was a ballerina, and with her small delicate thin frame, Misaki could imagine her doing a few pirouettes and chasseing. "It is Yoh's _intended_! His future _husband_! His _groom to be_!"

"It's so nice to see you HaHa-san."

"Ah you are so delightful. A breath of fresh air."

"I never knew you were a _Za Kan_ fan though."

"Za what?"

"The music. Isn't it from-"

"Vivaldi's Four Seasons of course. And isn't it perfection how each of the concerti sound so appropriate according to their season. This is summer of course. How could it be any other season? The drama and intensity like the relentless beating of the sun! Although, perhaps if you lived in Australia you might argue differently given as their seasons are quite different from Italy's."

"Why yes, my love, or as it and New Zealand are traditionally called, the Antipodes." _Anti-what? _Misaki blinked rapidly. Wh_y couldn't they just speak normal Japanese? And what's wrong with saying 'Hello. How are you?' like the rest of the freaking world? _Instead of saying all that, he just laughed nervously at Yoh's father who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere to contribute to the discussion. Misaki looked down and remembered he'd brought some sake for his future in-laws.

"Ah, I brought a bottle of sake for you."

"That is so thoughtful of you Misaki. Can you put it on the counter in the kitchen?"

"Misaki, is something wrong with your hand?" Not surprisingly, Miyagi HaHa had noticed it first.

"It's not so bad. I burned myself making coffee a few days ago."

"Arata, do you have the phone number of Tsumori San? He's a wonderful dermatologist and he's also our neighbor as well as a childhood friend of his." _No no no no no no. _This was bad.

"I already have an appointment to see somebody. It's really okay." Miyagi HaHa put away the phone and Misaki breathed a sigh of relief.

As Misaki was finding an out of the way place for the sake on the counter, Yoh came rushing in with the grocery items he'd purchased.

"Misaki, I bought you a honeymoon present. It's upstairs on the sideboard in the hall. I hope you enjoy it."

"Oh, that's so sweet. I'll get it now." Misaki smiled. Yoh really was so thoughtful and he knew how much he enjoyed presents. He thought about how Yoh had looked almost sad earlier. Misaki needed to get him something special. He'd already found a rare illustrated Basho from 150 years ago, which he was planning on surprising him at the wedding with but he wanted to get him something. He'd already said not to bother with getting him an engagement ring of his own. Perhaps a watch? He'd have to find something soon.

This was odd. On the sideboard was a large box which contained a thong, a black fishnet bodysuit with cat ears and an attachable cat tail. Well. Yoh had never told him he was into cosplay. There was something odd about the tail, though. It had fur but also a rubber attachment. Misaki blushed at the realization that it was in fact a plug for a certain sensitive orifice. He felt himself blush. Despite himself having come along way since he was an 18-year-old, he still blushed easily. Well, he might as well as put on the cat suit under his clothing, and then when they'd come home kitty Misaki and Yoh could play. Not that Misaki was into neko cosplay, but if Yoh desired this he was willing to try it once.

He quickly changed and then put his clothing over the cat suit, then went downstairs to the living room where Yoh was discussing something passionately with his parents. He quietly went behind him and whispered 'mrow" in his ears and pretended to scratch him. That was weird. You'd think the guy would get a little more excited seeing he bought the present.

"Misaki? You're in a funny mood today. What was I about to tell you? Ah, of course So, it looks like I found a publisher for the project we were talking about. Not Mitsuhashi University Press but Marukawa. It's the one geared for the general public travelling in the footsteps of Basho."

"That's wonderful, Yoh. I'm so excited for you."

Misaki and his parents started talking again, and as usual it was like they were talking a different language. They were so absorbed in their conversation they didn't notice him step out to the hall, where he sent over another bunch of messages to Usami-san.

Suddenly he sniffed and smelled the telltale smell of a curry about to burn. He peeked into the living room and saw the three academics so focused on whatever they were talking about; it would be a pity to disturb them. He ran to the kitchen and took the curry off the flame.

At dinner the sparkling conversation continued. As usual Miyagi ChiChi was bringing Genji into everything he could.

"Delicious curry. Who knows what Genji Hikari would think if he could have such a sumptuous meal?

"He would probably think what a wonderful cook HaHa Kyoju is!" Misaki finally found something to say after over a half an hour conversation about gender identity and Genji. Or was it gender identity and Victorian literature? This was exactly why he hated coming here.

"The only problem being that curry was only introduced onto our shores during the Meiji era, alas," Miyagi HaHa said while smiling at her husband. That was one thing he did enjoy. One one level he sometimes felt Yoh's parents could be more restrained and less public in their love for each other, at the same time Misaki couldn't deny the two appeared to be genuinely in love and it was heartwarming not to mention inspirational.

"Did you know Misaki is also a published author?" Yoh suddenly threw out from nowhere.

"Oh really, Misaki? You published in a journal? How very intriguing." Miyagi-Haha smiled at him.

"Ah. Yes." Misaki tried in vain to figure out what the hell Yoh was talking about and failed.

"Wasn't it about the idiosyncrasies of patients and how to work with them? As I recall, it was a series." Yoh smiled at Misaki.

He was going to kill Yoh. The article was more like a series of columns intended for humor in a tiny physiotherapy newsletter. It was hardly an academic journal!

"Ah. Well, it really was nothing much."

"Misaki is so humble. And on that note. I wish to make a toast. To Takahashi Misaki, a brilliant physiotherapist who works night and day to help others gain their mobility and a quality of life they wouldn't have otherwise, and who has agreed to spend the rest of his life with me." Misaki blinked a few times because of the corniness, but it was from his Yoh and he had a soft spot for sap and maybe he might have just been tearing up a little.

ChiChi-san stood up and there was something about the look on his face that just screamed Yoh. Maybe it was the goofy smile or his almost childlike mannerism, which always showed up out of nowhere?

"I would also like to make a toast to a woman who is brilliant in her field of Victorian Literature, as well as being a superb wife and mother. I speak of no other than Miyagi Rei, on the momentous occasion of her 62nd birthday."

As Misaki processed that sentence he started to feel a desire to wring the neck of a particular Basho scholar, because why hadn't Yoh told him this important piece of information? Misaki would have brought her a nice present! With all his luck she thought the sake was her present and thought he was a cheapskate now.

"Ah. What a surprise!" Misaki managed to get out while glaring at his fiancé in a way that hopefully the older couple would miss, and yet Yoh would not. Coming closer he hissed in Yoh's ear, "Why didn't you tell me it was your mother's birthday? I feel so stupid now!"

"Ah. I'm sorry. I was going to and completely got side tracked."

Meanwhile he hadn't gotten side tracked enough to forget to get his mother a yukata, bath salts and a weekend getaway for two at an inn in Atami.

Then Misaki accidentally overheard ChiChi-san loudly whisper to his wife.

"I have a special present for you on the sideboard in the box. For my neko darling. Go up and have a look."

And as his face turned several shades of red, Misaki realized how close in height he was to Miyagi Ha Ha and they could probably fit the same clothing. And that meant-

"Arata, the box is a bit rumpled. I see the ears and the tail; was there something else?"

"But of course, my darling there's a delightful catsuit for you to cavort at more private intimate occasions."

This was bad! And Yoh didn't seem so thrilled to be hearing about his parents' cosplay fantasies either. Meanwhile Misaki felt the urge to disappear to another dimension as he 'solved' the mystery of the missing catsuit.

"Ah, I think I can explain maybe what happened. I thought the present was mine, and uh – so I might have put on the catsuit on and it's okay I'll take it off now and dry clean it right away!" So now they thought Misaki was an idiot, a spindthrift, and a thief.It didn't help thatYoh's mouth had dropped in surprise, like maybe he was wondering just who was this man he was about to get stuck with for life. Misaki whimpered, "Well you said it was on the sideboard!"

"It's really fine. It was a simple misunderstanding."

Yoh ran up to get the actual present after Misaki had changed which had not been on the sideboard at all in the end, but somehow that didn't make Misaki feel any better.

It was a fan with a picture of what must have been Kyoto given the poem on the fan:

_Even in Kyoto_

_hearing the cuckoo,_

_I long for Kyoto_

"Ah. Thank you. That's so thoughtful." Of course. One of the most famous poems Matsuo Basho ever write, and very tasteful too, but did this man think of anything else but the literary giant?

"Because you are Kyoto, Misaki."

"I am?"

"'I long for Kyoto.' Just substitute Misaki for Kyoto." Yoh whispered in his ear and Misaki felt himself warm back up to him. Well that was different.

"I don't understand though. If he's in Kyoto why does he long for it."

"And that's what this poem so sublime."

This had led to more obscure discussion which Misaki couldn't follow as well as dessert which was macarons.

"Eat that quick, Rei. We have a Misaki on the loose! He might eat them all!" Misaki had laughed his nervous laugh and grimaced inwardly, while telling himself ChiChi-San was just trying to be funny.

Luckily, scrabble was next, and Misaki had always beaten Takahiro at scrabble when they played. He was a genius at it. Finally, he'd have something he did well. Then it turned out it was in English. Victorian English inspired by the works of the Brontës, and everyone at the table was fluent in English and all things Brontë and, well, Misaki wasn't. _Nii-chan,_ _I'm doomed! _ Misaki inwardly thought, and this time didn't laugh.

A half an hour later and Misaki was losing pitifully. Somebody then added cliff to heath though, and Misaki at least found something he found familiar.

"Ah, Heathcliff! What a character, and yet at the same time hard to believe. There's no way anyone would be able to get away with designing a VRMMO game that actually killed people. Amazing characterization though."

He hadn't counted on all three people looking at him like he said he was really from Mars and his birthname was Misagigeebagoo.

"Ah. I think Misaki is so good at recognizing popular culture references. Of course, he realizes that the Heathcliff he's talking about is named after the classic Byronic hero from English literature, right Misaki?" Well that was nice of Yoh, trying to help him save face even if Misaki had no clue what he was talking about, but he could pretend.

"Ah, yes. Exactly." Meanwhile it was his turn and the only thing he could put down was cat.

"Misaki, you really do have a neko fixation don't you. Good job fitting tonight's theme into the game!" Yeah right. Yoh meant well, but Misaki was dying in this game. Then he heard a notification go off and he disappeared into the kitchen to check it out.

Usami-san had been busy with his texts.

_Good luck with that._

That must been have been from before when he was messing with the gauze. Then:

_Can you call? Need your help with something. _

_Guess you're busy._

And then a missed call.

Misaki rang back, thankful for the excuse to get away from the game which was turning into a bigger nightmare than Genji Trivial Pursuit.

"Ah, Takahashi-kun, thank you. My phone email isn't connecting to the server and I'm away from my desk. Could I dictate an email to send to Kohanata An?"

"No problem. Let me just find her email. Okay. I got it. What do you want me to say?"

"_An-chan, _

_Leaflet looks fine. I'd like to discuss it with your further before we finalize it for the printers. Anytime tomorrow will work for me. Please contact me at your earliest convenience._

_-Usami Akihiko." _

"Ah. Can I possibly suggest something?"

"Fine."

"Kohanata An hates being called An-chan. I think she'd prefer Kohanata-san. She asked Mizuki-san not to call her that, but he still referred to her as An-chan. And now you're doing it too."

"And you know this, how? Are you reading my emails?"

"Not really. I just sometimes happen to glance at it as I send it. Unintentionally of course!"

"Unintentionally? And you're sure she really doesn't like it?"

"Yes."

"Alright. So change it to Kohanata-san. That was quick of you to catch that."

"Yeah, which is why the only word I could think of in a stupid Brontë scrabble game waas cat."

"Brontë scrabble? As in the famous English authors? What type of game is that?"

"Yes. I think they were writers, but I studied physiology, science, psychology, but I did not study English literature!"

"Ah, but you're in luck. I lived in England until I was ten and I was an an avid reader and a precocious one as well, and I owe you a favor. With my help you'll win that scrabble game. Take a discreet pic of the board and tell me what your letters are." Interesting. The man who always sounded sullen and bored suddenly had come to life.

"Okay. By the away, Kohanata An doesn't really want to leave even though she's acting like she is. She just doesn't feel appreciated."

"And you say you don't read my emails? What kind of crap is this?"

"Ah. It's just an idea I came up with."

"Okay. So, explain what is Kohanata An's motivation for stating she's thinking of leaving the company when we've given her numerous promotions and bonuses."

"Well, the problem is she still feels like she's not being treated seriously and being called An-chan makes her feel patronized. She wanted to be the lead on bringing in Onodera Shoten as a client, and felt like she could have handled it, when instead you didn't really delegate, and she felt mostly useless and nobody likes to feel useless."

Silence.

"What the fuck? How do you know all this?" Okay. This was bad.

"It was in her performance appraisal. I might have seen it."

"That's incorrect. I know that proposal front and back. I was very much involved in preparing it."

"Ah. This was the one from five years ago. I think if you look, she referenced this appraisal in a recent email to you." If he was going to be yelled at, might as well just go for it.

And really Misaki shouldn't have looked at any of these emails, but something about Kohanata An had reminded him of himself and how if he had a 1000 Yen for every time he was called 'chibi tan' he'd be rich, or how the clients still looked at him and thought he was a part-time worker still in high school. He knew what it was like to be patronized and he hated it with a passion.

Meanwhile Usami-san still hadn't responded. He really shouldn't have said anything.

"I'll review what you told me. You might be correct. Why she wouldn't just say any of this to me I don't understand." Misaki thought, _maybe because you come across as cold and unwelcome_, which he wisely kept to himself.

"She might be embarrassed, and it's hard for some people to speak up for themselves."

"Well thank you. And send me the scrabble pictures. Did anyone comment on the gauze, by the way?"

"Yes, my fiancé's mother who just happens to have a neighbor who's a dermatologist and a childhood friend of her husband's! I barely convinced them not to call him!"

"That's bad luck. Okay. Send me the picture and get back in the game."

And Misaki had.

"_Okay. Daguerreotype. It's one of the first photographs. It can fit on the line with o from professor. Mention Louis Deguerre who created an image on a polished sheet of silver-plated copper. Not really __Brontë specific but it's the same time period.__" _

_Thanks. You're amazing!_

Misaki almost laughed at Yoh and his parents' shocked expressions.

Each time it got nearer to his turn Misaki discreetly took a photo and sent the letters he had and somehow Usami-san was doing miracles. This man was a genius!

"_Spanieless insert underneath the E for Emily. A female spaniel, used in the novel Villette by Charlotte __Brontë __in Chapter 36." _

Misaki carefully placed the pieces on the board and looked up to find three people with what looked like smirks on their faces.

"Spanieless? That can't be a real word. I know English isn't your first language Takahashi-kun, but that doesn't even sound real." Misaki smiled sweetly at Yoh's mother.

"I think you'll find it was coined by Charlotte _Brontë _and used in her novel Villette in Chapter 36."

"Really? Wow, Takahashi-kun you re so well-read!"

And as the game progressed Misaki made a mental note to find translations of books by anyone named _Brontë _and to find out what a daguerreotype was. Usami Akihiko was a genius even more brilliant than his future in-laws were, and maybe not such a mean guy after all.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

It was amazing how someone could go from an embarrassing mess to a champion all in the space of an hour, because let's face it Misaki couldn't have gone lower than having been found wearing his future mother-in-law's catsuit meant for sexy cosplay, but it had all ended with him clobbering them at their own game. Literally. And to top it off he'd had that lovely 'dessert' later alone in Miyagi's apartment. No, in _Yoh's_ apartment, Misaki corrected himself. And then waking up to more delicious snuggling before rushing off to work an hour early to deal with the seemingly endless paperwork he needed to catch up on.

It was relaxing being the first to arrive. Kuma Bakery opened early, so he'd grabbed a box of his favorite pastries to treat his co-workers plus a large coffee and was now seated comfortably at his desk as he looked over the day's appointments. Usami Haruhiko was coming in for his second appointment. Today Misaki would see what type of patient he was. Was he the type to do the exercises Misaki had given him or would he be the type to wait for the last minute and do them once or worse, not at all, and if so, would he be sullen about it or sheepishly embarrassed? He wasn't so sure about Usami Haruhiko, but he had a feeling that if Usami Akihiko-san were having therapy he'd be the sullen procrastinator type.

Misaki finished his paperwork, and now had some time before the first appointment. After a quick stretch and a wall push up or two he walked over to his desk and picked up his phone.

Time to send off some messages and mails. For such a big corporation, it seemed odd that their tech department still hadn't been able to forward Takada-san's emails, or maybe they just were bogged down in other work? Or maybe they secretly reveled in driving Usami-san nuts. Despite that scenario being ridiculous, Misaki couldn't help chuckling to himself at the thought of a treacherous IT department bent on revenge.

As he forwarded the messages, he started thinking of the pattern he'd been noticing. Most of the emails Usami-san sent were as short as possible, and yet there were some exceptions. Misaki couldn't help noticing how those select few had a much better treatment; their emails were responded to promptly and in a less terse manner. It was primarily two people who got the elite treatment. Asahina Kaoru, the head of PR by always received a prompt response. From the few emails he'd seen Asahina-san came across as very similar to Usami-san; all very to the point and direct. Then there was Shiiiba Mizuki who was always asking Usami-san's opinion, and amazingly enough getting away with it and not annoying his mentor. Well, Shiiba did a lot of ego stoking too. Maybe that helped.

Oh, and anything from or even remotely connected to Sumi Ryouichi who clearly was Usami-san's mentor received star treatment.

Everyone else, _forget it._ Just from seeing how many repeated emails people were sending made it clear that Usami-san was taking weeks to get back to most of his correspondents. And it was ridiculous. He had been invited to a fancy cocktail networking party hosted by Marukawa Publishing at the Ritz Carlton. He'd never even responded, and it was in a day. If it were Misaki he would have responded as soon as he had read the email. What wasn't there to like? A fancy hotel which wasn't the Teito, (Seriously! Those people had found the ring and lost it!) meeting movers and shakers of Tokyo and fancy mixed drinks? Misaki was all over that one. Maybe Usami-san was trying to avoid his fiancé? Those emails from Kyo were engrossing to the say the least. He was on a poetry kick lately. A poetry kick which seemed to be one-part shojo and one-part gothic horror.

_**HOW**_

Could I love someone who hurts me like

_**YOU**_

Treat gum on your shoe.

No. Like dog feces on your shoe.

_******AND YET!******_

I wait for you like a desperate slave.

Lost in the prison of our love

As my flesh turns into dust and bone.

It almost made Misaki nostalgic for when he was in high school and had the worst crush on one of the guys in the baseball club, and what made it even worse was how he had been completely in denial about it too. Even though he'd only joined the baseball club because of this guy and even after that night in the hotel when the guy had given him his first real kiss, and he'd responded by running away. Seriously. The one thing he'd have done differently if he'd only been more confident, would have been returning that kiss, and then some. Instead he'd hid in his hotel room, and spent the entire night freaking out about his identity or what Nii-chan would think if he found out.

On a whim he sent Usami-san a text.

_Usamii-san, you really saved me last night. You are a GENIUS! _

_Google is your friend._

_What? You mean you used a search engine to find the words? But isn't that cheating?_

_You didn't seem so concerned last night. _

_Ah. Good point, Usagi-san._

_Usagi-san? I know we only met once but did I really resemble an animal?_

_Huh? Oh hahaahah. Sorry, it was a mistake! A typo._

_No problem. Thank you, by the way._

_Why?_

_For thinking I was a genius. _

Then Misaki's first client came in. It was odd how serious this man always looked, and from what he remembered from the Teito hotel, he didn't look much like the other Usami-san either. He was a successful architect and Misaki had been delighted to find that he had designed the renovated aquarium. His company was a subsidiary of Usami Industries. It was confusing how many different branches this company had. Usami Industries. Usami Group, Usami Design. There was probably even an Usami Lingerie. What about Usami AV Enterprises? Misaki really needed to rein his imagination in.

One thing was clear after they'd finished therapy. Usami Haruhiko belonged in the rare category of people who not only did their exercises but logged times and and even commented on how they felt afterward or any issues that had come up and didn't mind if he photocopied the page for future reference when filling out paperwork.

"Usami-san, I'm really impressed. If only all my patients made the effort you did, it would be a lot easier for everyone. Thank you." Usami-san had looked at him like he was nuts.

"I don't think it's anything special. What I find special is you. In only two appointments I feel already like a different man. I realize it's going to take time, but that is incentive enough."

Was it just him or did Usami-san seemed to be standing maybe just a little too close for comfort? Maybe he was one of those people who didn't really quite understand boundaries? He discreetly took a few steps away. Usami-san took two steps closer and leaned over all the while maintaining a serious expression on his face.

"Takahashi-kun, how old are you?" _Old enough not to be called kun, thank you very much, _Misaki bristled. It wasn't his fault, but the man had managed to trigger one of his biggest pet peeves. Misaki still remembered when three years ago one of his first patients had been so sure he was the part-time help she refused to let him work with her. He didn't understand how Kisa-san could stand it, because the man was over 30 and some patients still thought he was in high school.

"I'll be 26 in July. By the way, this is isn't really my business, but I met another Usami-san recently, and I was wondering if you were related. His name is Usami Akihiko-san from Usami Industries?" Maybe he shouldn't have asked that question. Now the man was frowning, and personal questions were a bad idea when it came to patients anyway, especially with a guy who seemed to have boundary issues. Well, he'd called him kun and asked him when his birthday was, so they were even now.

"That man? We have the dubious distinction of sharing the same father."

Which meant they had different mothers? Okay.

He had quickly changed the conversation to something safe.

By now all the therapists had arrived plus a junior therapist who liked to watch Misaki work. By junior therapist, it was Kirishima Hiyori, Kirishima-san's 10-year-old daughter who must had had a day off of school. She usually kept herself busy doing odd jobs for the therapists, and together with her positive and upbeat attitude, it was always a plus with her around.

"Hiyori-chan, did you get a cream puff? If I knew you were coming, I would have gotten you cocoa to go along with it."

"I did and it's okay, Takahashi-san. Onii-chan got me a choco drink earlier." Onii-chan was Kirishima-san's tall and somewhat frightening looking 'friend,' at least officially. In truth everyone knew they were lovers, but never said anything. He worked in sales and sometimes stopped by doing his rounds of whatever the sales he did. It was rather silly that he didn't even know, but there was something a little bit intimidating about the man and most of the time Misaki was busy with a patient or paperwork to begin with.

"Excellent! It's so nice to see you Hiyori-chan."

After Usami-san came back to back patients and Misaki barely had time to breathe until three hours later. Finally. Lunch and messages and one sent to a certain hard-working professor at Mistuhashi University.

_Hi, how's your day going? Mine is super busy. I've already had four sessions. I need more Yoh time. Want to go out for dinner? I'm done at 6:30. I could meet at your office. _

He put his phone down and concentrated on the paperwork. He really needed to get into the habit of doing it after each session. Ah. A message from Yoh. Misaki smiled while thinking of what tonight hopefully would have in store.

_Good news. Kohanata An-san is going to stay. You were right. She can't stand being called An-chan and wants to take more of a leadership role. You really saved me there. I owe you. _

Usami-san. Well that was impressive coming from a man who seemed to think the world owed him a favor.

_You can repay me by making that appointment to the dentist. Did you know that plaque can lead to heart disease? It sounds strange, but it's true. _

_Oh please. I'm fine. I think my doctor would worry more about my smoking. _

Oh, right. He's a smoker, like Yoh.

_I can recommend a good doctor for that! I know someone who was able to quit after a 2-pack a day habit! I have his contact information. Want me to send it? _

_No thanks. I'll quit when I die. _

_That's all nice now but try telling that to your widow and orphans, Usagi-san._

_Widow? Orphans? I'm not that type of usagi. _Oh, right. This guy's fiancé is a guy named Kyo. Well, maybe he should think more of Kyo's feelings then, whoever he was if they were planning on getting married. He did a quick search for appropriate photos of diseased lungs and disgusting teeth and sent them along.

_Well, I didn't really need to eat lunch today. Thank you for destroying my appetite._

_I'm trying to inspire you to take better care of yourself, so you'll have more years to enjoy your lunch! _

_How sweet. _

_Oh well. I tried._

He put the phone down and finished the paperwork.

_Dinner sounds good but I won't be finished until closer to 7:30. Let's meet at the izakaya on Ueno street._

Since when did Usami-san want to go out to dinner with him? Oh. It was _Yoh_, which made him wonder why they couldn't just meet at his office as it was on the way. Oh well. Maybe Yoh really needed to concentrate on what he was doing. There was a decent bookstore a few stores down from there, and the new _Japun_ had come out the day before, so he could pick it up along with multiple Brontë novels, because you never knew when another Brontë themed game or quiz might pop up on you.

_Can't wait. See you then. _

Misaki finished the rest of the day in a great mood and made it to the izakaya at 7:15 with a bag full of books and _Japun_ on top. Yoh hadn't arrived yet, so he sat down in a booth, ordered edmame, sashimi and a peach flavored chuhai. He put his bag down and took off his jacket and opened the _Japun_ and breathed that freshly printed manga magazine smell. Ah. The first part of the ritual of reading Za Kan had begun.

Then he sent more messages. Maybe if he sent more now, he wouldn't have to worry so much when he wanted private time later with Yoh.

"Ah, Misaki. What are you up to?" He looked up to see a rather exhausted looking Miyagi Yoh walk in holding his coat and briefcase.

"Ah. Nothing. Just writing some notes from my sessions." Had Misaki just lied to his fiancé? Well he could hardly explain who Usami-san was, given the whole reason he was doing this was because of losing the ring, which stubbornly remained lost. It was surprising Yoh hadn't mentioned the ring as it was, and he didn't want him to start thinking about it. Still, it felt weird, almost like he was hiding a secret life. Which was ridiculous. Couples didn't tell each other everything they did, and it wasn't a big thing. Just some messages he was forwarding.

Yoh ordered a beer and more substantial food for them to share and sat back down with a sigh.

"Long day?"

"Yeah, long day. My back kills."

"Well I'll have to give you some massage therapy tonight then."

"That sounds nice." Yoh leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes. "Remember when we first met? You were so friendly but business like, but then you brought me to the therapy room, and you were wearing your uniform-"

"Uniform? What uniform?"

"You had this polo shirt with the company logo and shorts and then you leaned over and gave me this amazing view of your ass."

"You are the biggest pervert, you know that?"

"Ah. Well, perhaps. And then you made me work hard even though it hurt like hell, but you always had this sweet smile and friendly attitude, so I couldn't be angry. I'll be forever grateful I had you for a therapist as opposed to that demon who runs the company. What's her name? Aikawa-san?"

"Hey! Aikawa-san's not a demon! She's just very driven. She does a great job and she works hard running the place with Kirishima-san."

"At any rate, she wasn't _the_ gorgeous, _the_ sexy, _the_ delicious Takahashi Misaki, and by that last session I knew I had to do something because there was no way I wasn't leaving there without making you mine. I really wanted to make you mine the first day, but I was patient." How did he say such embarrassing things so easily? Maybe one day Misaki would get there. Or maybe not. Misaki discreetly put a hand on his where it wouldn't be visible.

"Yes, you were. And one of my best patients too." Misaki smiled at Yoh, and decided not to mention how, as a patient, Miyagi Yoh fell squarely in the sheepishly embarrassed procrastinator category.

"And you were the sweetiest, sexiest slave driver out there." _Slave driver_? "And that last session - That was probably the best sex I've ever had in that therapy room." The last was whispered in Misaki's ear in a husky voice, but even so it unnerved him.

"Yoh! We're in public!"

"You are such a kid sometimes. Do you see how you're blushing? Aw, don't pout. I'll stop teasing you."

"You'd better, otherwise no fun for you tonight, and not that I'm keeping to a schedule, but it's my turn to top." Misaki managed to whisper that in his ear without blushing even more.

"Oh really?"

"Yes, _really_, so no complaints, and you'll like it, too."

"Will you do some cat impressions, as well?"

"I thought I told you multiple times already, I was confused and I thought _you_ were the one with the neko complex! How was I supposed to know it was your parents?"

"Yes, and I really don't want to think closely on that topic. Although that does remind me that my parents spoke to Tsumori-sensei -you know the dermatologist friend they have? and he's going to the pre-wedding party, so he'll look at your hand. He's apparently a top doctor at Mitsui Memorial. So that's good."

"That's really nice of them." _Oh shit! What am I going to do now? That's not even a week from now and I am so dead if I don't find the ring! _

Later after a very pleasurable night with Yoh, Misaki woke up after a nightmare involving an emerald ring with wings like the snitch in the Harry Potter books, and Misaki was on a broomstick trying to catch it. He remembered thinking how of course he was a Hufflepuff just like Takahiro had been, and right when he almost had the ring, Takatsuki Shinobu, in green robes had smacked into him and taken it. That was weird because Misaki hadn't read Harry Potter in years. You'd think he'd have a stress dream involving _Za Kan_.

It just made him more nervous. What was he going to do if he didn't find that ring by the party? He looked at his phone. 3:15. Perfect. By the time he got back to sleep he'd have an hour before it was time to wake up again. He got out of bed as quietly as possibly and went to the living room. He might as well forward messages and maybe try out _Jane Eyre_. Then a message came from Usami-san.

_You're up late._

_Well so are you._

_I'm waiting for a call from the Paris office. _

_Ah. I can't sleep. I'm so DOOMED. My life ENDS on Saturday!_

_Okay. Return the phone first please._

_Thanks very much!_

_Explain._

_It's this ring I lost. You know? The priceless expensive heirloom?_

_You mean the one you lost before you stole an Usami company phone?_

_Yes, that one! Wait a minute, for the last time the phone was in the garbage! Anyway, not only is it still missing, but my in-laws are hosting a pre wedding party for all their friends in four days, and their friend the dermatologist is invited and he's going to check my hand. You know, the one that's burned except that it isn't?_

_And I take it you're not fond of the solution of pouring boiling water on your hand?_

_Excuse me?_

_Joke._

_Well ha ha ha. _

Misaki added multiple unhappy emogis in emphasis.

_I have an alternative, because I do owe you a favor. A friend of mine is a jeweler, but he also specializes in artificial jewelry that looks almost as good as the original. _

_Ah. Let me guess. His name is Cartier?_

_His name is Suzuki-san. He can make you a ring, and he owes me a favor or two. _

Misaki felt like such a dunce. Why hadn't he thought of buying an artificial ring?

_Ah, thank you thank you thank you! You are amazing, Usami-sensei. Yes, please!_

_I'll get back to you. Suggestion? Maybe try going back to sleep._

_Great idea, Usami-dono!_

_Okay you can cut the crap now._

(\ (\

( - .- )

o_(")(")

_What the hell is that?_

_It's Usagi-san going to sleep after a hard day at Usagi Industries dealing with... I don't know… carrots?_

_Idiots more like. _

_Idiots taking all his carrots. and lettuce. And drinking all his Usagi Beer. Seriously though you really saved me!_

_Go to sleep._

_Goodnight!_

**Like every proper Junjo Romantica fanfiction, Usagi had to show up at some point, and every proper Junjo Romantica fanfiction needs a Suzuki-san, so in this fiction he's a jeweler. **

**I took the computer character rabbit from online of course because, yes, google is your friend. It looks even cuter without the extra spacing.**


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

Misaki nervously approached Kuma Jewelry Misaki feeling like a spy on a reconnaissance mission; the building located in Ginza, known for its shops catering to the affluent and posh didn't help his nerves. He looked at his watch. Usagi-san was supposed to meet him here at 6pm, but Misaki had arrived ten minutes early and went inside to wait. The place was full clientele being helped by a busy sales force. He really should have just been open with Yoh about the ring, he thought guiltily. Instead, he was about to buy a knock-off of the Miyagi family heirloom.

He also felt nervous about meeting Usami Akihiko again, which was ridiculous, because they'd been texting and speaking on the phone all the time since they'd met.

"Takahashi-kun." He turned around to see a tall silver-haired man enter the building looking a little breathless. He was wearing a blouse paired with a vest and a tie. "You've been waiting long? Just a moment. I'll speak to them. Hello? I have a 6 o'clock appointment with Suzuki-san. Usami Akhiko?" Misaki wondered if Usami-san had gone to this store with the mysterious Kyo-san, or maybe Kyo-san wasn't interested in jewelry. Misaki never really thought he'd wear a ring, but Yoh had been so persuasive saying he always wanted to give his grandmother's ring to his intended.

"Ah, yes. Just a moment."

"Takahashi-kun, I'm double parked. I'll be right back. Start without me."

As he thought of the mysterious Kyo without the last name, Misaki remembered the latest missive the man had sent, which contained way too much information about his preferred position in bed, all written in that weird poetry style. Did the guy think he was the next Basho? Too bad he couldn't ask Yoh's opinion on that one. Misaki had tried to forget the poem, but somehow the line "You top my sundae with your banana split." stuck in his head and wouldn't be removed. Seriously, is this really what he thought of as love poetry?

Misaki was so busy trying to not to laugh he hadn't noticed the three sales people who had surrounded him and were staring at him like he was a celebrity. They started asking him questions all at the same time.

"I know it's not my business, but I just felt I needed to show my support. Our country needs to make marriage legal for _all _adults."

"So, are you pursuing adult adoption? You must be so excited! Are both of you getting rings? My boyfriend's brother did that and they both got diamonds."

"How long have you been together with your fiancé? My neighbor's been with his for nine years and doesn't seem to be getting married yet."

Misaki didn't know who to answer first and found himself laughing nervously. How the hell did these people know he was engaged to a man? Did he have a sign on his forehead which read 'I am gay'?

"Ah, so you're right. I'm engaged, and yes, we're doing adult adoption and a shinto ceremony. We're having our honeymoon in Hawaii, so I think we'll get married there too." This was so odd. Were they so forward with all their clientele?

Then Usagi-san came back and Misaki saw the sales ladies' eyes turn to him, and something about how they were looking at both of them made everything clear. They had assumed they were a couple. One of them went up to Usagi-san.

"Ah, sir, is that an authentic Audemars Piguet watch you're wearing?"

Usami frowned, shook his wrist and glanced at the watch. "Yes. I purchased it at an auction in London a few years ago."

"Ah. You look like a man of class and refinement. Would you two gentlemen like a glass of champagne to celebrate the happy occasion?" Misaki tried not to gag at the confirmation of his suspicions, but Usag-san was either pretending not to notice or was oblivious as he politely declined for them.

Then they were saved by a huge man who looked more like an overgrown teddy bear, and even had a nickname to show for it, Suzuki Kuma-san.

They followed him to the back.

"So Usami-san told me a bit about your situation. I hope you find your ring, but I should be able to help in the meantime. Normally we aim for the utmost in quality, but I'm told affordability is important in your case; Am I correct that you're in the market for a synthetic emerald?"

"Yes. Exactly."

First, I'll need to see a photo of the ring."

"Ah, yes, of course." Misaki took off his shoulder bag and handed him a photo of him and Yoh at the restaurant in Ni chome where Yoh had proposed showing Misaki's excited smiling face and most importantly for now, an excellent view of the ring.

"Ah. So that's the fiancé. I've definitely heard of him from Kamijou-san."

"Ah. His name is Miyagi Yoh."

"I'm told he's well respected for his innovative studies on Basho."

"Exactly." Misaki smiled proudly. _My man. _He envisioned Yoh. It was a pity they weren't seeing each other tonight. Well in a few days they'd be living together and then less than a week and they'd be married, or as close as possible to it.

"Small world." Strange world. Well, _somebody _had to be friends with the frightening devil professor.

"So, Suzuki-san, what's your real name?"

"You wouldn't believe Ichiro would you?"

"Suzuki Ichiro? My, you've grown since you were in the NPB."

"Usami-san, I like this guy. It's Suzuki Takahiro though, but everybody calls me Kuma-san."

"Ah. My brother's name is Takahiro."

"Really?" Usami-san was looking at him strangely intently.

"What, Usagi-san? I mean Usami-san." Misaki started blushing. It was one thing to call a man Usagi-san in a text and another to his face, but somehow, he had really started thinking of the man as Usag-san, and the man was smirking at him, which somehow made it even worse.

"Usagi-san? I like it. It goes well with my name. Now Takahashi-kun, I'm looking at a five-carat ring here?"

"Uh, well, I don't really know. Sorry. I'm not a jewelry connoisseur."

"No problem. I'll bring some mounts out and we'll see what we can do. Be back soon."

He left and somehow Misaki found it a bit awkward. Why was communication so different on text than in person? In their interactions over the phone or through texts Misaki had been so confident, so why was he so nervous?

"Takahashi-kun, This brother of yours. Is he ten years older than you?"

"Yes. You don't know him, do you?"

"I think he might have been my senpai in high school. He's maybe five centimeters shorter than I am with black hair, glasses, grey eyes and a tendency towards naïveté and cluelessness?"

Misaki frowned. If he said yes, he'd be putting down Nii-chan. At the same time Nii-chan really did fit the description. Except he was so much more. Misaki looked up fiercely in the taller man's eyes, wondering if he'd seen eyes that shade of purple before.

"He must not be the same person because the Nii-chan I know is selfless, caring and raised me on his own, when he was only 18, even though it meant he couldn't go to university and had to go to work instead."

"Ah. That does sound like my senpai. He was always busy taking care of his baby brother. He should be around 36 now. So, you're the little brother he has a huge complex over."

"Tell me about it. He still thinks I'm a kid sometimes. He means well though."

"Of course. Did you end up telling Miyagi-san about the lost ring?"

"Ah, the thing is, I hadn't gotten the chance to tell him yet, and now…"

"And now you won't have to, and what he doesn't know can't hurt him." That somehow didn't feel right, and yet he really hadn't been planning on telling him.

"So, I still am getting mail for Takada-san. You said it was going to be fixed a few days ago?'

"Well, that's what I thought, but unfortunately I was wrong."

"So, you've gotten five more emails about the fundraiser."

"And?"

"Aren't you going to respond? And what about the multiple emails asking when you'll get to the conference in Chiba and if you're staying the full two days?"

"I'll get to it."

"Do you even bother responding to people?"

"It's called prioritization."

"And what about Hasegawa-san's birthday. Want me to send a message wishing him a happy birthday?"

"What for?"

"Well because he's a colleague-"

"Do you know how many colleagues I have? Do you even know how large Usami Industries is? It's only one branch of the Usami Group."

"But Hasegawa was the guy who helped finalize that deal with Fuji Film you were happy about?"

"And? What does that have to do with anything?" This man needed a course in basic management. Misaki wasn't getting anywhere.

"Isaka-san needs to report with you on the deal with British Airways and is asking if Monday works after your meeting with Marketing at 10."

"Don't worry about it. Just forward it and I'll take care of it."

"Ah, but since I'm here already it could save you time by responding for you."

"Fine. So just write _Okay_."

"Okay. Anything you want to add to that?"

"_Usami_."

"What a shock." Misaki tried to mumble but apparently not low enough.

"_Yes_?"

"Well it's like you have a contest to say as few words as possible in all your emails. Can't you communicate with people?" Misaki blushed. He hadn't meant for his voice to get that loud and annoyed sounding.

"Really now? Says the man who is borrowing _my_ phone? And you think that gives you the right to read and analyze my correspondence? Also, I'm surprised you don't understand that shorter is better, my chibi friend." He reached down and ruffled Misaki's hair.

"I hate being called 'chibi!' And shortness is okay, except the way you do it you come across as rude, cold and abrupt! And I'm sure people love it when you ignore their emails altogether."

"There's limited time and I'm CEO. Now that you have a ring you can give back the phone and you won't have to be annoyed by my emails anymore." Misaki gulped. Maybe he had gone a little bit too far, as he looked at a clearly riled up Usagi-san holding his hand out expectedly.

"Ah! It's just the hotel might find the ring and they'll call me. Please. I'm sorry." Misaki put on his puppy dog eyes.

"I'm getting a new PA who's supposed to be given this phone. I'm not sure what you expect me to do here."

"I understand. I just need it for a little longer. Less than a week. Please?"

"I hate to interrupt your conversation, but I have the mount and I'm just going to get some stones for you to look at." Misaki looked up and saw Suzuki-san had returned. He really looked teddy bearish and it was hard to even fathom why. Maybe it was his rotund figure or his scraggly beard?

He heard a ping from his phone and looked down. Kyo-san was being prolific lately.

_Death_

_Would be preferable_

_To another night without YOU_

Misaki couldn't resist and showed it to Usagi-san. The other man might have looked sad for a micro-second, it was hard to tell, because it had been quickly replaced by a neutral look. And to think the two of them were engaged. Maybe in real life he was as gorgeous as Usagi-san was and they had scintillating conversations and then had amazing sex all night. Misaki shook his head. Had he really thought of Usagi-san as gorgeous and he really needed to not think of other people doing _that_.

"Just a FYI that I'm forwarding you lots of emails from people wishing Hasegawa-san happy birthday. It could increase morale if the CEO also sent greetings, or you could just ignore it like you do most of your email."

"Like I care about Hasegawa-san. The guy is an idiot. Okay. Have it your way. Just write _Happy Birthday - Usami. _And nothing else. No exclamation marks or emogis."

"All right."

_Hasegawa-san, _

_Happy birthday. Great work on the Fuji Film deal. I couldn't have done it without you. - Usami_

Well, that was kind of like what Usagi-san had suggested, only better, Misaki thought while smirking to himself.

Then Suzuki-san was back with a row of diamonds and after a few minutes of comparison with the photograph the 'heirloom' had been chosen and it would be done in three hours. Who knew the solution to his problem, well at least for the time being, would be so easy?

Suzuki-san led them back to the showroom where one of the sales ladies awaited them and handed her the invoice.

"Hi Takahashi-san. I'm so happy to help you. You look excited."

"Yes. I can't believe Suzuki-san was able to help me."

"Yes. And on such an important occasion." Misaki didn't know whether to be overjoyed at the acceptance and inclusion or horrified that the woman really thought Usagi-san was his fiancé. It felt oddly disloyal, although the real disloyalty was not talking to Yoh. Oh well. It was done now.

"We were wondering what ring you were going to get. My co-worker told me about your fiancé's Audemars Piguet watch. Let's see here. Oh. Synthetic emerald with cubic zirconium. How unique." It was obvious the woman was horrified by the selection. Well, it's not as if men usually wore engagement rings anyway. And really, was it her business why Misaki was buying a synthetic ring? This was beginning to get awkward.

Meanwhile, Usagi-san came back from the phone call he'd made and was looking at the invoice and frowning.

"65,000 Yen? I'm not quite understanding the price. Suzuki-san is giving us a 20% discount. Was that added in?" The sales lady looked like she was going to be nauseous at Usagi-san's cheapness.

"Ah. The discount has been applied, but we're using platinum which our clientele find worth the price for a ring which should last for a lifetime."

"Ah, well we're looking for the least expensive option. Right, Takahashi-kun?" The sales lady now looked so horrified it was almost comical. Still, it wasn't their fault she had come to the wrong conclusion.

"Ah, right. Yes. Usami-san is correct."

After a quick consultation with Suzuki-san, the sales lady rang up the purchase.

"With silver plate the price goes down to 16,400 yen. We also have a special gift box."

"That's more like it. We can skip the box. Suzuki-san says you can send a messenger to deliver it later. Takahashi-kun, take care of the payment, and those arrangements. I need to make a phone call. We've spent enough time here as it is. I'll meet you outside." He looked at his watch and frowned again.

The sales lady by now clearly thought Usagi-san was a disgusting cheapskate and even asked if Misaki might want to reconsider, while Misaki continued feeling embarrassed without really wanting to explain what was really going on.

Outside, Usagi-san was having a cigarette.

"Everything go okay? Aside from the fact that you were even purchasing a ring? Does your fiancé get a ring as well or just you?"

"He doesn't want a ring. I'm getting him a watch instead."

"I don't blame him. A man wearing an engagement ring looks ridiculous."

"I think you mean dignified. Everything went fine aside from the sales lady asking me if I still wanted to marry you because she thought you were my fiancé and I was buying the cheapest ring possible."

The man started laughing. "Yes, that was amusing. Did you see the dirty looks she was giving me? It just made me want to be even more obnoxious."

"Usagi-san! Aren't you concerned that they thought you were a jerk?"

"Eh, I don't care. She can think about me what she wants. There's a cafe nearby. Want to grab something to eat? I'm starving and when I get back to the office, I have hours of work waiting for me."

"Fine, but I'm paying, because you seriously just saved me."

"Sumi-sama might be sending something later. I told him to use my personal email, but he might forget. In the off chance you get something please contact me immediately."

"Ah, Sumi Ryouichi, who has been a fixture in Usami Group and instrumental in landing deals with companies as far ranging as the BBC, Nike and Coca Cola as well as being an award winning novelist."

"You sound like you're quoting something. Where did you learn all this?"

"Didn't you tell me Google is your friend? Oh and Sumi-san is reportedly friends with the prime minister too."

They ordered their food and sat down.

"So, this Marukawa reception at the Ritz Carlton. Aren't you going?"

"And be bored an entire evening? It's not worth my time."

"Okay. I'll email them," Misaki said brightly and typed_ Unfortunately, Usami-san will not be available to attend the event. _

"It's really fine. I've got a substitute PA now, Fujiwara Ayumi." Who Misaki knew was really the PA for Shiba-san and probably didn't have the time to deal with another person's mail.

Misaki finished his coffee and got up.

"Thanks again, Usami-san. You really did save me."

"No problem. Good luck with your in laws, and as soon as you're finished please contact me."

"Of course!" They shook hands and Misaki left wondering when the other man was having his adult adoption ceremony. Maybe Kyo-san would change his name to Usami's. It made sense. Maybe they'd have a western wedding. He couldn't imagine the silver-haired man in traditional dress somehow. He caught the bus heading back to the office even though with this traffic they were on it would have been faster to walk because they weren't going anywhere. He noticed Usami-san as he walked back to his car. He giggled. The man who otherwise looked immaculate had his tie crooked and he could see from his seat.

_Usagi-san fix your tie. It's crooked._

Misaki watched the other man look at his phone then look around for Misaki in an unintentionally humorous way.

_Look at the bus. _ Then he realized the windows on the bus were dark and he wouldn't be able to see in. it was endearing somehow how the older man had smiled and waved before moving on. Smiled. He'd never seen the man smile before. Even when he was laughing earlier, he hadn't been smiling really. He had a nice smile.

At home he had a quick bath and was relaxing on his couch checking mail after making more last-minute wedding arrangements which Takatsuki had told him he'd dealt with but hadn't.

Email came from Hasegawa-san who was almost effusive in his thanks, and that's after a simple message of gratitude. Who knew how people would respond if Usagi-san would try to put a little more effort into his communications?

_Usami-san, _

_It really meant a lot to get your email and I shared it with the rest of my team from the Fuji deal. _

Misaki noticed that _Hasegawa_ had cc'd his email to Usagi-san's direct email address when a message from Usagi-san showed up.

_What exactly did you say to Hasegawa-san?_

_Just Happy Birthday. No emogis or exclamation marks. _

_And what else did you write?_

_Did you end up making an appointment for the dentist. He could help the discoloration caused by your horrible smoking habit. _

Usagi-san somehow decided not to respond. This mean clearly wanted a future which included dentures.

More glowing email came from people who had worked on the Fuji film deal. Just one email had generated mounds of warm happy fuzzies. What could be wrong in something like that?

And if one email could do so much, what about more?

_Hi, sorry about the delay. I would like to help at the fundraiser dinner for needy children. I appreciate you thinking of me! - Usami Akhiko_

The guy was rich. He _should _help and then write a nice check. Misaki checked another email from a man who was interested in the company and had attached his resume. Well why not answer that too.

_I admire your courage in contacting me and find your resume intriguing. Please contact Fujiwara Ayumi to arrange a meeting. Good luck. - Usami Akihko_

Misaki was on a roll, responding to all the mail that had been ignored for the past few months. And while he was at it why not send a morale boosting group email? If one email could accomplish so much, imagine what an email sent to all the staff of Usami Industries? And there was this convenient mail alias he'd discovered too. usami-industries-global .jp. Well, there was no time like the present to change a certain CEO's image a little.

_To all staff of Usami Industries,_

_Just a quick note to share my appreciation of all the hard work everyone has been doing this year. _

_I might not show it outwardly, but I try to notice everyone's achievements. If you have any ideas on how to make Usami Industries even better do not hesitate to contact me. Let's continue having more successes. - Usami Akihiko_

Okay. Maybe a touch on the sappy side, but he'd purposely made the language as concise as possible.

Misaki stretched his arms and felt satisfied. Then the phone ring and his mouth was full of dorayaki. He tried answering.

"Hello, is that you? A high-pitched voice came over the phone. It sounded familiar but he couldn't quite place it. "It's done. No trace or anything. Santa's going back to the North Pole." Santa? What did that mean?

Misaki tried to finish his bite, while the man continued. "Are you there Takada? Shit. I've got to go."

That was strange. Misaki typed in some notes because he knew there was no way he'd remember any of that. It's done, no trace. _Santa - north pole_

Weird. Another message from Usagi-san's father and he sounded even lonelier than the previous ones he'd sent. Something pulled on Misaki's heartstrings. He'd give so much just to see his parents one more time. He was starting to over-step his boundaries, but family was important and if he could help Usagi-san, shouldn't he?

_Hello,_

_Usami-san will be at a conference in Chiba next week at the Hotel New Otani Makuhari on November 22nd and would be happy to see you then. - Takahashi Misaki, PA _

Usagi-san had gotten a response from the organizer of the Marukawa networking event asking if the man wanted to have someone else go in his place. Well, when else would Misaki get a chance to have free drinks and maybe meet well-known authors like the mangaka of Za Kan for that matter? And it wasn't like it was going to hurt Usagi-san who wouldn't be there to know anything, so it's not like he didn't have the time and of course free drinks, hopefully of the mimosa variety.

_Usami-san would like to send Takahashi Misaki as his representative. _Misaki typed carefully and sent.

Misaki smiled. He'd been so productive today. Thanks to Usagi-san, he had a ring which would be delivered any minute now, and he'd helped Usagi-san indirectly with his communication plus snagged a free ticket. Not too shabby for a day off.

**Suzuki-san is a human and a jeweler. Kind of laid back. And yes in this AU Takahashi Misaki likes baseball as well as ogling the cute guys. The mysterious Kyo-san is probably not that mysterious given there's only character in JR named Kyo. **


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

Misaki sat at his desk, pretending to check his schedule while really checking out his ring. It was good timing too, because tonight was the pre-wedding party the Miyagis were hosting mostly for their friends. Originally, they'd called it a rehearsal party but since there was no rehearsal happening it had turned into a party for the friends of Yoh's parents. He had one more patient, then maybe he'd grab a quick drink before going there, and yet he couldn't calm himself down. The last time he felt anything remotely like this was right before he came out to Nii-chan and he thought he was going to throw up.

Unfortunately, the usually wonderful and supportive older brother had freaked out and had said some ridiculous things, like how Misaki was this way because he was so young when he lost their father, so now he was looking for a father in a mate. That had been gross when Misaki had thought that one through. This had led to their first ever real fight when Misaki had retaliated saying how Nii-chan had obviously chosen Manami Nee-chan because she reminded him of their mother amongst other not so nice things, leaving Misaki thinking Nii-chan hated him and with the worst feeling of emptiness inside.

Then a day later they both cried and Nii-chan apologized and ever since then had tried his best to be a supportive brother. Which was good because by then Ejii had broken the bad news that he was moving to Canada for graduate school and how he wanted to go back to just being friends.

Misaki sighed. It was all good things, but there was so much to do. Two days after the pre-wedding party Misaki was moving into Yoh's apartment. He'd found someone to take over the lease on his condo but wouldn't be moving in for a couple of months, which made things more expensive but easier at least.

He sighed. Yoh had cancelled again last night. It seemed this Basho documentary was taking up a lot of his time, and the rest was being taken up by the regular demands of his job. They'd already filmed the actual scenes of his travelling in the summer break last year, so it was odd that he'd be needed so much at this point, but what did Misaki know about television production? Oh good. A new text had come in for him.

_Sorry about last night. I'll make it up to you tonight. I can meet you at your work at 6 before we go to the pre-wedding party. _

He smiled. Yoh must have been exhausted but still managed to text him. He was so loyal and thoughtful and 180 degrees different from that horrible professor he'd 'dated' when he was still in college after Eiji had left. Well, Misaki thought they were dating until he happened to overhear the man talking to his friend about how he was getting sick of his 'boytoy' and it was time for him to find another one. Misaki frowned and looked through his photos for a moment to get the image of that disgusting man out of his head – like his favorite one of him and Yoh on the beach together- and then checked to see who his last appointment was. _Usami Natsuhiko_? Where were all these Usamis coming from? Could that be possibly Usagi-san's mother? He checked the time. She was five minutes late.

Suddenly a tall light-haire/d middle-aged woman in a kimono entered the room, and Misaki realized who Usagi-san had gotten his looks from; the resemblance as unmistakable unlike with Usagi-ani, who was still coming in on time and with his notebook filled out. She looked a little lost, but Kirishima-san even now pointing her to his direction. Something about him made him feel clumsy and awkward like being in the presence of royalty. She looked so refined.

"Hi. I'm Takahashi Misaki. Are you Usami-san?"

"Yes. I was told about this practice from a certain man. My wrist is hurting me, and I'm supposed to be playing the 13-string koto with friends in a casual musical group I belong."

"Ah. Well let's see if I can help you." He was screaming to ask her if she was related to Usami Akihiko. Finally, at the end of the session he was about to ask when she noticed his ring and frowned.

"Interesting. It looks like an engagement ring but men don't wear those."

"Ah, well, my fiancé - the ring is an heirloom, and he wanted to give it to me." Misaki sputtered out, while tempting to do a facepalm. He never spoke about his personal life to patients, and he certainly never came out to them and look what he just did! What was wrong with him?

"Ah. Like my son. Telling me he liked men, thinking I'd be upset. I was overjoyed, you know why?" The woman was looking at him fiercely and maybe staring at him a little too closely for his comfort.

"No more heirs for the Usami family. What a nice revenge." Ah, Misaki thought then processed her sentence. Wait – what? _Revenge_? Misaki started to feel he'd lost the plot. He really should just get on to showing her the exercises he wanted her to do, but somehow his mouth seemed to move on its own accord.

"I'm just wondering, are you related to Usami Akihiko?"

"Who do you think the son I talked about is? First, he almost 'marries' a lunatic," she made quote marks in the air perhaps to indicate her displeasure with gay marriage or adult adoption, then he decides he's not marrying anybody. Not like he'd tell me any of this. I had to find out from that other man."

"That other man?" Oops. He needed to get out of this inappropriate situation, not capitalize it!

"My step-son. I do believe he's a patient of yours I believe. Usami Haruhiko

"Ah, I'm not really supposed to say… confidentiality agreements. Anyway, I'd like to go over the exercises with you? You'll probably be seeing another therapist as I'm going out of town-"

"Ah? Adult adoption and a honeymoon?"

"Ah, well… yes. We're going to Hawaii, but all our therapists are excellent so don't feel bothered. I'll be discussing my open cases with whoever takes over for me as well so whoever will be taking care of you will be well informed." The woman looked thoughtful and after a demonstration of the exercises she took the print out and left, leaving Misaki to wonder what revenge the woman had wanted, and did he somehow have a pheromone that drew Usamis to him? Maybe it was an exclusive variety called usamones? And who was going to be next? Usami Chichi? And would his name be Fuyihiko? They had every other season name so far. Maybe the extended family were the months of the year?

Kisa came over to him and checked out the ring.

"Ah, Micchan, that's the ring you said you were getting? I hate to be annoying, but I don't think it's really like the original you know. Aikawa-san, what do you think?" Kirishima-san had gone home early and now it was just them. Aikawa came over and had a look.

"Hmm. I hate to tell you this, but although at first glance it really likes like you're ring, even I can tell it's not the same, so I'm wonder if the Miyagis will notice."

"Ah! Aikawa-san, please don't say that! The pre-wedding party is in a couple of hours and I was planning on them not noticing!"

"Maybe they'll be too distracted by… well, maybe we can distract them by saying you're pregnant!" Kisa-san looked way too happy by this idea.

"Kisa-san, you're aware that I'm male, right?"

"Yeah. It's just I was reading this fanfiction online about a flu that somehow makes a man able to have babies and-"

"Ah, Kisa-san I think you'll find that in the real world nobody biologically male has ever gotten pregnant before. Next thing you're going to suggest is that you tell them I'm an omega."

"Ah! Misaki! You never told me you were familiar with the Omegaverse! I love those stories." Misaki belatedly remembered that Aikawa was somewhat of a BL fanatic in her spare time and tried not to roll his eyes at his boss.

"Exactly, Aikawa-san, and Miyagi-san is the tall dark handsome alpha who becomes Misaki's soulmate." Misaki laughed. They were going to start acting the same way he did when he got together with Todo Shinnosuke and talked about Za Kan together and somehow it was a lot worse having his life being compared to fantasy romance manga. If he had to magically become part of the manga Za Kan was where it's at, with maybe some secret gorgeous man he could tangle with between the pages so to speak.

Then Yoh had shown up a bit early shaking out his umbrella and taking off his coat. Misaki furrowed his brows. Why was the man getting comfortable when they weren't staying?

"Ah, Miyagi-kyojo, Takahashi-kun didn't tell us you were coming. What a nice surprise."

"Yes. A real nice surprise,' Kisa-san smiled a little too flirtatiously for Misaki's comfort.

"Thank you, Aikawa-san. Kisa-san. I was just thinking of the last time I was here. It was very memorable." Miyagi said this while winking and smirking at Misaki. Seriously, his man was wonderful, but he was going to drive him insane. And yes, it had been memorable because that's when they did that for the first time, but Misaki didn't need his colleagues to get any ideas in that direction.

"Ah. You're feeling alright since then? Did you have a follow up appointment?"

"Ah, no, Aikawa-san. Did I need one?"

"Well, normally we try to have patients come back a few months just to make sure there are no problems we didn't miss. Misaki, you didn't schedule him one?"

"Not yet, Aikawa-san. I guess I was a bit distracted. I'm sorry."

"Well then, he's here now," Kisa smiled almost predatorily - what was up with him lately? Didn't he have that sexy art student boyfriend? - and stood next to Yoh. "I can take care of you. Misaki wouldn't be able to maintain a professional atmosphere necessary, so let me check. Let's see here." As Kisa unbuttoned Yoh's sleeve, Misaki started getting angry and walked over. Meanwhile Kisa seemed oblivious. "Does it hurt here? Maybe here? Or maybe here?"

"Kisa-san, thank you, but I think we have to be leaving, so-"

"Actually, I need to speak to Misaki alone. Maybe in one of the therapy rooms?" Suddenly it all was clear. Yoh had changed his mind and was calling it off. Maybe he was moving to another country. Yes. He'd gotten a full professorship at Oxford and was moving to England. It would fit Misaki's pattern for either dating jerks or great guys who moved to English speaking countries. Yes. The dream was over.

Meanwhile he'd noticed Yoh was mumbling to himself about where the lock was on the door, and on finding it had secured it.

"Ah, Misaki, this brings me back. I just wanted you so much and you were very similar pants, but maybe they were just a little bit tighter. Oh well, that's okay, and I love this shirt you have on. It brings out the green in your eyes and it's also so easy to take off."

"Ah? Wait? What's going on?" Yoh had untucked Misaki's shirt, and managed to pull it over his head, and now was stroking his chest.

"I remember how amazing it was here; we had the best sex here. Let's do it now, before we have to be bored to death at the party." He said this with his lowest voice, the one that drove Misaki crazy, while expertly tweaking his nipple.

"Ah, Yoh. Ah!" Misaki started losing himself. Maybe he was right. It was going to be stressful with all of the Miyagi's brilliant intellectual friends there to make him feel even more intimidated than normal, and Yoh knew just how to make him feel good, and how had he unbuckled his pants already. Suddenly Misaki envisioned Aikawa and Kisa hearing all of this from just a meter away and moved out of his grasp. "I thought you were going to talk about the wedding!"

"Huh? But everything's going fine there. Not sure what I'd even talk about. Ah. I loved this therapy bed. I got some amazing therapy here. Can you blame me for wanting more, Misaki."

"This is for therapy, not for satisfying your hentai lusts!" Yoh completely ignored him and started going for the zipper.

"And do you have the special cream? Or that massage oil? Get that out. Ah, yes."

"Do you know Aikawa-san gave me a disciplinary hearing about you? And it's not like these are soundproof rooms here, either." Misaki jumped out of the way just before his pants came down. This man was way too quick today! Suddenly Yoh found something interesting and his voice changed to that weird high-pitched voice he usually saved for when he was teasing his colleague, Kamijou-san.

"Oooh! Ultrasound! That's kind of like a vibrator isn't it? Hmmm. Nice." This was worse than being at a toy store with his nephew Mahiro. Yes. Yoh was acting like an overgrown two-year-old with an over active libido. It felt awful, but he pushed him away.

"Yoh. We can't. Not with people here. Think of it like this: if you had sex with one of your students, you would get fired, no? So, we can't do this here especially when my boss is right outside." Yoh looked at him sadly. Maybe he was being a little harsh? Misaki decided to sweeten the blow by bring the taller man close; he wrapped his arms around Yoh, rubbing his back and wasn't surprised to feel his fiancé's aroused state. "Come on. I'll make it up to you. We'll come back when we're closed and then we'll have fun. In privacy."

"With the cream, massage oil or the ultrasound?"

"All three."

"Hmm. Alright, you win." Yoh checked his watch. "Well, we've got a bit of a time still. Let's go get a drink. We're going to be stuck for hours with just my parents' friends for company. I'm going to need all the help I can get." Well, that was one thing they could agree on, and there was always the very exclusive after party they'd be having with just the two of them later.

**Usamones exist in this AU. They're almost as necessary as having a Suzuki-san.**

**I referenced the old Uke Flu fanfictions for both JR and SH which, even though it's about MPREG which I usually think is ridiculous are quite enjoyable, although unfortunately one of them was never finished. I keep trying to make Kisa nicer, but he's based on the character Annalise who is kind of a jerk, so it's not quite working. **

**I'm realizing that this fanfiction has a couple of really odd pairings at first. We have Takahashi Misaki x Miyagi Yoh (what would that even be called?) Then we have the probably not so mysterious Kyo who writes tortured poetry inspired by the bad poetry I wrote as a teenager and says he's Usami Akihiko's fiancé. I'd call that probably Junjo Tragedy, but you'll have to read on to see what I mean. **


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

When Misaki was 21 he was so sure he'd found the one. A gorgeous and mature man who radiated confidence; a guy who had chosen him. He finally could let go of his first love, which was good, because since moving to Vancouver, Eiji had almost immediately found a new boyfriend, and since they were still good friends, MIsaki got to read all about it in his letters. And he couldn't complain either, because at least they were close friends and that was better than nothing.

So he'd needed this feeling of love and comfort again; of sharing his life with somebody else, and if the somewhat extreme age difference worried him sometimes -Professor Harada was 45 years old- every time they'd been together the older man had soothed him and told him he only wanted him and now that they'd been together five months Misaki had stopped thinking so much about that. Who cared if Nii-san would think this meant he was looking for a father figure? Maybe he was. He wasn't looking for his father though, but if he desired a mature man who cared- He was an adult now and everything was consensual.

And the last time they'd been together had been so sweet and the sex so good. It was good to just live and be loved.

Then he'd heard the conversation Harada-Kyoju was having with a fellow colleague in his office. Misaki had decided to make a surprise visit with dinner reservations and he'd even gotten a risqué outfit to wear.

So, there he was wearing an uncomfortable thong under his jeans with the rest of the outfit stashed away for later and as he had reached Harada's office door, he'd started to hear the conversation.

"What's up? You sound like you need to get laid."

"Yeah. Maybe. I need a new boy. This one isn't cutting it. He's clingy, desperate and he's an idiot. If I have to listen to him rehash the plotline of some stupid ass manga one more time…"

"Ah? But last time we talked to you were so excited about him?"

"Well the sex is good, but it's a miracle he even got accepted to this university with his brains or lack of them."

"Well isn't that what you're looking for? Young, gorgeous and stupid?"

"Yeah. There's something to be said for that. But he's more plain than gorgeous, and his sell by date has passed."

Sell by date? Like he was a bottle of milk or a package of tofu? _Sell by date_?

That's when he'd run back to his apartment, ripped off his shoes, jumped into bed cried himself to sleep and vowed never to date a professor again, who didn't seem to have understood why he wasn't picking up the phone when he called or answering his messages anymore.

Four years letter he'd met Miyagi Yoh and after their heated coupling in the therapy room as an unexpected bonus to their last session and then during their short but sweet courtship, he'd happily made comparisons in his head how different he was. Miyagi Yoh was nothing like Harada-kyoju. Where Harada had been arrogant Miyagi was down to earth and even humorously self-deprecating. Harada had acted like some guy from a BL manga where he was the seme and Misaki the uke, and Miyagi loved it when Misaki dominated him sometimes. The man was down to earth. And Misaki was older and confident; more mature to discern that what had made Harada-kyoju an asshole wasn't the fact that he was a professor, but the fact that he was in fact an asshole. An asshole with charisma and power. Yoh was the diamond in the rough while Harada was kind of like Misaki's fake emerald; on the surface it looked beautiful but really it was false. How lucky he had been to overhear that conversation because otherwise, he'd never have dated Yoh.

And now they were getting married. Married. It didn't matter that in Japan gay marriage meant adult adoption. The reality of the situation they were committing themselves to each other for life, and he wasn't marrying Yoh's professor parents, he was marrying Yoh. He shouldn't be so intimidated. And that glass of shochu hadn't hurt either!

It had also been hilarious when they'd left the therapy room only to see Aikawa-san and Kisa-san so obviously trying to pretend they hadn't been trying to overhear what was going on.

So as they entered the Teito hotel, Misaki was relaxed; not quite tipsy but relaxed and hopefully Yoh was also, because they'd both ended up leaving the therapy room horny and frustrated and they were going to be stuck at the party for hours, before they could head off to Yoh's. Not like it was Misaki's fault. _He _wasn't the guy who decided a therapy room with artificial walls would be the ideal place for amazing sex when Aikawa-san and Kisa-san were only meters away.

Misaki studied his fiancé as he took out a cigarette, lit it and inhaled in a way that made him think of a prisoner heading to his execution. He was also not exactly looking forward to this. Well, it wasn't really their party so maybe that was it. Because, even though it was officially to celebrate them, the only people invited were his parent's friends. It was like his nephew Mahiro's first birthday party. Mahiro hadn't any idea what was going on but enjoyed the treats and had acted cute while his parents showed him off to their friends.

Still, the Miyagis wouldn't have had a reason to celebrate if there wasn't a wedding, and he would just concentrate on that. And imagine how he and Yoh would look when they were dressed in the traditional montsuki, haori and hakama as grooms… it was going to be magical.

As they entered the hotel, Misaki started reviewing in his mind everything he'd studied in preparation for the party. He had intended to read at least two Brontë novels, and Jane Eyre had gone well at first. In translation of course. He could relate to her. They were both orphans and she was trying so hard. Then he got to this scene where the love of her life had cross-dressed as a fortune teller, and visualizing Yoh in a Victorian style dress, had been so hilarious, he'd had a hard time getting back to the actual book. He'd also been so busy with wedding planning and the ring, so he ended up reading translated book summaries instead.

Of course, now that he'd mastered, well not quite mastered but had become somewhat competent at the Brontës, the Miyagis would discuss something completely different and he'd feel like an ignoramus again. Too bad they couldn't be discussing the newest research in post knee-replacement surgery therapies he'd been reading.

It was already bad enough that the hall was at the Teito, since he still hadn't recovered from the ring fiasco.

They'd barely been in the small hall a minute before, Miyagi HaHa came rushing up, looking lovely but slightly old fashioned in a light blue chiffon dress with one of those little jackets on top that's sewn into the dress, and Misaki's confidence started slowly dribbling out of him like an extended release capsule. Meanwhile she was giving him her signature kisses on his cheeks, which always baffled him.

"_Mi-chan_! It's so good to see you. Oh, Yoh, it's good to see you too of course." Yoh was looking a little bug eyed. Maybe he was remembering his mother's cat cosplay outfit and trying to forget again? Misaki tried to psyche himself up. He'd won that scrabble game after all! Okay, so really Usagi-san helped him win, and Misaki couldn't exactly text him mid-conversation for brilliant rejoinders, but still, he'd won the game!

"Ah. Excuse me, I need to take this phone call. Sorry Haha-san. I'll just be back. It's Todo-san, Misaki. I'll try to be quick."

Todo-san had been a graduate student of Yoh's from five years ago, who still called all the time for his advice. The main probably called when he wasn't sure if he should take a bath. MIsaki could just hear the conversation: 'Miyagi-kyoju, I'm not sure if I should take a bath. I only took it this morning but it's so humid out. Should I take another?'

"Alright, Yoh. Mi-chan, I've been trying to find Tsumori-sensei. He said he'd be here, but I haven't seen him yet. Well, he does have a busy schedule, I should be happy he was able to come here at all really."

"Tsumori-sensei?"

"You know the burn specialist who's our neighbor? I mentioned to him your case. Ah, but your bandage is gone, Misaki?"

As Misaki looked at his hand he'd realized he'd completely forgotten about this major disaster now looming in front of him; he'd been so focused on getting the ring, but now this burn specialist would see he clearly had no scarring or any signs of a burn on his hand and now his mother in law was staring at him and this doctor would be able to see he was a complete liar any moment and _shit shit shit shit shit!_

Not to mention Aikawa-san had thought the ring didn't look enough like the original and maybe MIyagi-Haha was noticing that as well?

And before he could even make any plans Miyagi-Haha was waving the man over. He was rather handsome a way in a light pink oxford shirt with a few buttons open to reveal a muscular chest. He had brown hair a little lighter than Misaki and was similarly spiky at the ends but a lot less poofy. He should be asking Tsumori-sensai about how he managed to de-poof hair, but that would really make him look like a weirdo. Still, how _did_ Tsumori-sensei get his hair to do that?

"Takahashi-kun, Miyagi-kyoju was telling me you had a nasty burn?"

"You should have seen his bandage it covered his whole hand!" Something in the way Miyagi-Haha said that made him realize the woman must think he was a hypochondriac or worse. Tsumori-sensei spent a few minutes checking over his hand all the while looking at him dubiously.

"So, Takahashi-kun, you've made a miraculous recovery, but if you are concerned there are a number of creams you can buy without a prescription which might relieve any of the, uh, _pain_, you might experience after a bad burn." Tsumori-sensei was probably wondering why they'd wasted his time, and Misaki kept on visualizing a window to fling himself out of or maybe a portal to another universe.

They thanked Tsumori-san and Miyagi-Haha motioned Misaki to the buffet and piled something dark into a bowl.

"Here, Misaki. You're looking pale. Have some authentic goulash."

Misaki managed to eat a little of the heavy meat stew. Maybe it wasn't so authentic? It was greasy and heavy whatever it was.

"Mi-chan!" on hearing this high-pitched scream Misaki remembered where Yoh must have gotten his voice from, because there was Miyagi-Chichi, who was acting like he discovered something life transforming.

"Mi-chan, I don't know why I didn't see this immediately, but you're Murasaki! You're Murasaki to Yoh-chan's Genji. And it fits in so well with your real name too."

Misaki decided not to mention that Genji having had relationships with multiple women at the same time maybe wasn't such a good role model for Yoh?

"By the way, we need to talk about my new project. I'm sure you'll be very interested because it's all about weapons and Norse mythology."

Maybe if Misaki ran off for a couple of minutes he could survive this conversation intact?

And then Miyagi-Chichi said something even more horrifying:

"I'm sure you'll be especially excited to hear about the interesting finds I've discovered on the me-yull-near. Given your amazing prowess in Scrabble."

It took forever just to parse the last two sentences. Then it took half of forever to remember what the man was referencing. Misaki realized he might have had gone overboard in the game. Well Usagi-san that is, since he'd gotten him the words. He'd vaguely remembered the Norse word Miyagi-Chichi was talking about now. He'd been barely able to spell the word; the only thing he could remember was the triple word score and how Usagi-san had fed him some story about how the Brontë's loved Norse mythology. This had been at the tail end of the game, when he'd already won anyway. If only he'd stopped himself first, then he wouldn't be having to pretend to be an expert in yet another subject he didn't know anything about.

This was all getting a little overwhelming. Excusing himself from his future father in law, he dumped the greasy goulash into the trash and went to a quiet corner to make a list:

Get book on Norse mythology - become expert on weaponry

More Basho poetry - Get audiobook and listen while commuting?

Brontës - memorize more book summaries.

Hair too poofy - find out once and for all how to tame it

For future reference I am a hypochondriac

Learn to love goulash

The only real antidote to greasy meat was the desserts table and Misaki had just placed a piece of strawberry cake on his plate when the Shinto priest showed up, and Yoh still hadn't come back from his phone call.

"Takahashi-kun, congratulations. I just have a question for you about the ceremony. You haven't mentioned your parents. Will they be participating in the ceremony at all?"

"Ah. My parents can't participate. They're not alive, but my brother and his wife will be there in their places."

"Ah, I'm very so sorry for your loss, Takahashi-san."

"It's fine. It was a long time ago. My brother and his wife will be there to represent them."

As soon as he saw that sympathetic look come over the man's face Misaki wished he'd just told him before. Why did everyone have to have that look which made him feel different, when suddenly they didn't know how to treat him? He'd never asked Nii-chan about this. He must have also had this happen so how had _he _dealt with it? Maybe having an easy-going oblivious nature helped? All Misaki knew was he just wanted to get beyond this. It's not like anyone liked talking about him being an orphan anyway, and it just led to unnecessary awkwardness where people didn't know what to say to him and tried to hard not to upset him, when all he wanted was for them to just treat him normally. Like how some people didn't want to mention their parents around him. Just be yourself, he'd felt like yelling. Just treat me normally. It had been bad enough being such a burden on Nii-chan, it was even worse having people be so uncomfortable because of him.

And here he was again, and the people who'd overheard him tell the priest about his parents both being died had those looks like 'oh so sad' on their faces and couldn't they just move on?

He was 26. Independent, with a position he'd had for three years, which he was successful at and enjoyed. He'd made enough money to be able to pay back Nii-chan for university if the man had let him, so instead he'd bought a condo and even saved a little. And now he was getting married. He was so far from being the burden he'd been as a child.

And yet these awkward uncomfortable moments kept happening. There was no escaping. People didn't think. They didn't know what it was like and wasn't that a good thing, really?

"Sorry, Misaki-chan, can I just interrupt? Kannushi-sama? I was hoping I could discuss decorations for the shrine. I mentioned I wanted to have the pillars be silver." When had Takatsuki Shinobu shown up?

"Yes, Takatsuki-kun. I did discuss this with my colleagues and unfortunately I won't be able to let you paint the pillars, but if you want to use silver paper, that would be acceptable."

"Silver paper? But I can't use silver paper it will look like a middle school project. Oh, never mind. Thank you, Kannushi-sama. Misaki-chan. Yoshino is such a waste of space. He's late. Seriously, the guy ditches me to work at Marukawa on stupid Shojo manga? Can you believe it?"

"Really? But that's amazing news. He's been trying to get his manga published for years now."

"Yes, fine, but why now? When I need him here?"

"He's not coming?"

"He's on his way, but he gave me notice.' It was hard for Misaki to be sympathetic when Takatsuki-san seemed to be a demanding and impatient boss.

"I booked the cars to transport guests from the shrine to the celebration by the way." Because Takatsuki had been spending a lot of time on something else Misaki couldn't quite remember. Maybe making sure there were blue roses on all the tables?

"Ah. Good. Takatsuki-san suddenly noticed Misaki's ring and looked at him darkly. "I found your ring, Mi-chan. It was stuck in the lining of my book bag. Here it is."

Somehow Yoh and his parents had managed to be in hearing distance as Takatsuki-san revealed the ring, and as Misaki wondered if maybe moving to another country was an option, Miyagi-Haha came over and peered at it.

"Mi-chan I don't mean to be rude, but if Shinobu-chin had your ring, then what's this ring you're wearing?" She was looking at him with a sweet innocent look too, and Yoh was looking at him like he was really confused and somehow, he needed to think of something quickly.

"Ah. That's such a good question! Ah… the thing is I was so excited to wear a family heirloom which would show… uh… our eternal bond… that I thought I'd get Yoh one that matched it, but I wasn't sure if it was close to the original so I thought I would… try it out. So, my wonderful husband-to-be, Miyagi Yoh, I wish to present this to you now." Misaki bowed formally, took off the ring and handed it to Yoh.

To his surprise, everyone gushed and clapped. Yoh practically crushed him with his hug, his parents were satisfied, Yoshino had arrived and clapped and the only person who'd stood there with that seemingly perpetual frown on his face had been Takatsuki-san. Takatsuki-san. The hotel had told Misaki that they'd found the ring and then misplaced it. Something was not quite right…

He ended up speaking to Yoshino-san about his new contract with Marukawa. I turned out an old school friend of his was an old friend and he'd helped him get a foot in and now this friend was going to be his editor.

Something kept on bothering him about Takatsuki-san and the ring. Maybe he just needed to clear his mind. He left the hall and went to a random floor where the hotel rooms were.

As he was turning a corner, he heard a familiar voice, even though it was muffled and some of the words were muffled.

"...asking or a divorce!" _Miyagi-Haha?_

"Hah?... not true…"

"… too young… two men..." Most of it was muffled but somehow Misaki could get a clear picture anyway. They really had been against them. Even now. And now with this ring fiasco he probably looked suspicious.

Miyagi-Chichi was also muffled. Misaki could make out "a mistake" and "it's not too late… divorce." _Divorce_? They really had that little faith that this marriage could work?

"It's happening whether you like or it not!" Yoh's cries had come out surprisingly clear and also sounded like he'd been close to the door like he was about to rush out. Misaki rushed down the corridor, and down the elevator where he could conveniently 'just happen' to meet Yoh as he went down. His parents hated him and their impending union. His worst fears had been proven true, but Yoh was on his side at least. Still…

"Misaki. How are you holding up? I was just… discussing some logistics with my parents." How awkward Yoh looked when he lied. Misaki decided to try and get him to talk. Maybe if he was subtle about it?

"I'm fine."

"I was a bit surprised about the duplicate ring. It's so sweet though. Although I'm not sure it will fit."

"That's fine. We can stretch the band later. I hope this isn't too overwhelming for your parents; you know, their only son marrying a man."

"They're fine with that. I told you already." _So, what aren't they fine with then? _Misaki wanted to cry out. Suddenly it felt so lonely being here at this party with Yoh lying and keeping things to himself; at this celebration with strangers. He needed fresh air. He needed out. As if on cue his phone dinged with new mail.

"Ah… I'll just go and take this and come back to the hall."

As soon as he found a quiet corner, he messaged the concierge to notify him he'd found the ring, which was silly since he could have just told him in person. Still, it was easier than trying to track him down. Then he checked messages. The first was from Usagi-san.

_I'm headed to a mountainous area in Hokkaido for the weekend and probably won't be checking my phone much; the service is spotty or nonexistent._

_What's in Hokkaido? _

No response.

Oh, why not, he thought. Might as well tell Usagi-san. He'd been so helpful with getting the ring so he should know what happened.

_Just had a major disaster with the ring. One of the guests had found the original and now the Miyagis think I'm a wack job. Thanks for your help anyway._

He didn't have to mention it was his own wedding planner who'd found it. And how long had Takatsuki-san had the ring and known it and what had he been waiting for?

Well Usagi-san's mail was a lot more interesting. So many people had responded to the global email with interesting ideas for the company. Like the woman who suggested tai-chi at lunch. What a smart idea! Although maybe the paranoid person who imagined that this was all a plan to weed out the complainers and fire them maybe was a little strange, some of the responses had been positive, but at the same time he'd managed to step on some toes:

_What the hell, Usami? Shouldn't you have discussed this with the directors first? – Shiiba._

_Really a bit surprised that you didn't have a moment to even mention this new iniiative when I'm the PR director – Asahina._

Then there was that guy who was sure Usagi-san had taken the idea of sharing ideas was from him and he expected some compensation, or he was going to complain. Well how was Misaki supposed to know somebody had had the same idea?

Maybe he shouldn't have sent that global email after all? He remembered a message Usagi-san had sent somebody about how he detested global emails and how they were the work of all the tengus in the world.

And if somebody decided to use the new initiative to complain about their co-workers and another to write a 15-page philosophical treatise, was that really Misaki's fault?

As if he was reading Misaki's mind, Usagi-san sent another text.

_About to take off. Just checking in one more time if everything's okay. Anything happen? Usagi._

It would have been cute that the serious businessman was using the cutesy nickname if Misaki wasn't freaking out just a little bit. It wouldn't help now if he mentioned anything and spoil his trip doing who knows what in the mountains. Maybe it was a steamy getaway with the mysterious Kyo-san?

_Everything's fine! Enjoy your trip! _

Because sometimes ignorance was the better option.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9

Two days after the disaster better known as the pre-wedding party, Misaki was still recovering. It had been like having multiple nightmares back to back; the worst being Misaki hearing exactly what the Miyagis thought of him, and they were… right. He was a regular guy. They were on a completely different plane than he was. No wonder they didn't want their only son marrying him. He'd tried to get past it. He'd gone out to lunch with Aikawa-san and Kisa-san and listened to Kisa-san complain about his boyfriend, who'd deciding to leave for a couple of weeks so he could finish his art project, which had explained Kisa-san's strange behavior lately. He'd even gone to dinner with the Miyagis and watching them act like they didn't think Misaki wasn't worthy of their son showed how much of an interloper he was. They couldn't even be bothered to tell him, because he wasn't important, and Yoh could hardly say anything about it either.

The cocktail party at the Ritz Carlton hosted by Marukawa Shoten was exactly what he needed. For an evening he'd forget out about it all, and maybe even get to see Ijuuin-sensei, the best author in the world, and maybe even discuss _Za Kan _with him. And even if he didn't meet the author there were drinks and good food. It was exactly what he needed, and since Usagi-san was busy being stuck in the mountainous regions of Hokkaido who knows where, he was really doing the man a favor by going.

He'd assembled his best casual but snazzy outfit: new black jeans, a white tee-shirt and a green blouse with the first few buttons left open. He added green and white star socks because nothing said cool as much as vintage looking socks.

The hotel was just as fancy as Misaki had hoped it would be. He went to the bar and ordered a lemon sour and checked his own messages.

Takatsuki-san had sent another useless text this time about the tablecloths. How long did it take to find tablecloths and who cared about their texture? Yoh messaged; he was having a late night in his office grading exams and Aikawa-san was texting asking for advice about her blind date.

_Misaki, he's gorgeous. He's at least 180 cm dark and looks like a model. There's got to be a catch here. Maybe he's a mass murderer?_

_Relax Aikawa-san, he's probably thinking the same thing about you so go for it, but if he's a jerk, I'll beat him up, although you could handle it fine by yourself. ;) If he's a mass murderer… well it's been nice knowing you. You've been a great boss! ooo_

The messages for Usagi-san kept coming; more people guessing what the real motivation was for the initiative. The employees at this company had serious trust issues. There was so much back and forth, and would Usagi-san really benefit from seeing it all? Misaki was going to go with delaying sending the emails until he got back. Whatever the man was doing in Hokkaido, he wasn't doing it with his fiancé. Kyo-san had emailed asking Usagi-san to send him a souvenir and had warned that if the man got him another bear and salmon sculpture he would bludgeon him to death with it, and went on how Uagi-san should show a little gratitude considering all the fancy liquors Kyo had bought him over the years from his travels. But would Usagi-san get a clue? No. He would purposely get Kyo a pointless bear sculpture just to drive him nuts! Misaki wondered how Usagi-san read the emails without getting headaches. This guy really needed to cut down on the dramatics.

After getting some food to go with his drink at one of the buffets he found a table and checked the new emails.

_Usami-san, it's so generous of you to volunteer to give Hasegawa's birthday present on behalf of the company. I've left the gift bag in your office. -Kohanata An_

Except Usagi-san hadn't volunteered; Misaki had on his behalf, which maybe hadn't been such a good idea after all? It was too late now though. He'd have to notify Hasegawa-san.

_Hasegawa-san: I have something special to give you. Please meet me tomorrow in my office at your convenience. - Usami Akihiko xxxx _

There. Perfect. Misaki took a sip of his drink and relaxed. Then he looked closer at the email he just sent. Usagi-san would never write xxs in his emails. It looked out of place. Maybe he could send a correction? 'Hasegawa - ignore the xxs in my last email? It was a typo.' That would look stupid. Meanwhile Hasegawa-san had already responded.

_Usami-san, I can't wait. Xxxx :) _

Okay this did not look good. Did people normally respond to business texts with four kisses and a smiley face?

Luckily, it could wait. Finishing his delicious drink was a higher priority, especially since after this he'd be switching to non-alcoholic drinks. It was annoying how quickly he went from buzzed to completely blasted.

Two men were talking loudly at the next table over.

"...Usami Akihiko's initiative? Talk about implausible."

"Well you know how Usami-san is."

Misaki tried to pretend he was sending a message while he studied them closer. One of them had dark haired and he was talking to a tall muscular man with bleached blonde hair. Everyone was dressed in expensive looking suits. Misaki looked at his own outfit and shrugged.

"Is Usami-san here by the way?" the dark haired one asked.

"I haven't seen him, but no big loss there. What an _asshole_." the blonde responded.

_Wow. Nice guy_, Misaki thought sarcastically.

Meanwhile Aikawa-san had sent a zoomed in picture of her date's hand which held a cigarette, which was usually a major deal breaker for her.

_I knew it was too good to be true. No offence about Miyagi-san. _

How she had managed to send the pic without the guy knowing he couldn't tell.

_No offence. Next time get a pic of his face though! Good luck xxooxx_

A tall man with similar hair to Misaki's got up at the front and spoke. He also seemed to be having similar poufy hair problems, Misaki thought as he smoothed his hair down. The speaker was the director of Marukawa and seemed personable enough. Misaki was beginning to think he should have chosen a table in the back, though instead of so close to the front. He continued to not quite follow what the speaker was saying until something jolted him awake.

"I would like to call up a man who needs very little introduction, a man who has helped make Usami Industries, and some would argue, all of Usami Group the successful enterprise it is today. Usami-Akihiko, CEO of Usami Industries."

Misaki's eyes bulged. What the hell was Usagi-san doing here when he was meant to be somewhere mountainous in Hokkaido?

And as the man himself walked over to the podium he noticed Misaki and was clearly surprised to see him too. Misaki blushed in embarrassment.

The chairman of Marukawa kept on calling more people to the podium. As Misaki wished Usagi-san would forget he was there his phone dinged with a new notification.

_Interesting. I never knew you had also been invited to this event_

_I was just stopping by to get your souvenirs for you since I thought you were in dangerous mountainous regions without phone service. _

_Did that include my drinks? _Usagi-san must have sensed Misaki looking at him and pointed at his drink while smirking. Who knew this man could be so funny?

_I was saving them for you. I just was going to find a water bottle to fill with more of the hard stuff._

_I'll take a martini then._

_Great. Coming right up!_

Misaki looked up to see his reaction expecting a smirk but was rewarded with a genuine smile. It was amazing how beautiful his eyes were when he smiled. Too bad the man didn't do it more. It was special and Misaki really needed to concentrate on something else because his thought processes were becoming a little weird.

The director of Marukawa finished his speech which Misaki had vaguely understood to be about the strong bonds between Usami Group and Marukawa. Everyone descended from the podium. Most of the people hadn't even talked. What had even been the point? Aside from Misaki getting to see Usagi-san being surprisingly gorgeous. Not that people needed to be gorgeous. Yoh wasn't gorgeous and yet he had a certain way about him that had drew Misaki in and was perfect in his own way.

"What a nice surprise, Takahashi-kun." Misaki looked up to see Usagi-san and realized he should have been looking for a means of escape rather than ruminating on beauty.

"Ah...er… uh… Usagi-san… I know I shouldn't have come but it's just such a fancy hotel and I was hoping I'd meet my favorite author here maybe and you weren't interested in going, and then you went out of town so -"

"It's fine, although if you'd just told me you were interested, I would have added you to the invite list from the beginning."

Usagi-san took a glass of champagne from a waiter's tray and held it out.

"You know what, Takahashi-kun. I never thought I'd say this to you, but you've been an amazing help. The PA I was sharing with a colleague didn't have the time to help and without you I don't know how I would have gotten through these past days. I'm not used to saying things like this, but I appreciate all your hard work so thank you."

Misaki started thinking of the major mess up he'd made with the global email and laughed nervously. "You really don't have to thank me, Usagi-san."

Usagi-san put his hands on Misaki's shoulders, looked right into his eyes and all Misaki could think was how could such a beautiful shade of purple even exist.

"Just say you're welcome. You deserve it. Anyway. I'm exhausted. And I hate this tie. It's been bothering all day." Usagi-san had taken off his jacket, folded it over his arm and flung his tie off like he was trying to destroy it, then stuffed into his pants pocket. "So, anything exciting happen while I was gone?"

Nothing. Only hundreds of mail messages he hadn't forwarded yet because Usagi-san would have a complete melt down.

"Well you did get a few messages here and there." Misaki laughed awkwardly.

"Okay. Tell me about them."

"Why don't we wait until tomorrow?"

"Why don't we just get it over with now?" Shit. The older man must have started to suspect something was weird. Misaki started to sweat. Luckily, he was saved by a skinny guy in glasses who ran up enthusiastically to them.

"Usami-san! I'm so happy to see you! I brought this portfolio for you. I can't tell you how excited by the initiative. Read it and get back to me at your leisure. I'd love any opportunities you might have for me. My cell is on there. I'm available anytime to discuss. Ciao!"

Usagi-san looked oddly cute with his mouth hanging open in surprise.

"Takahashi-kun, do you have any idea what just happened?"

"Ah. That's interesting you ask that, because I might have forgotten to tell you-"

"Usami-san, thank you for volunteering at the Dinner to benefit the Poor of Tokyo. I have you scheduled for 4-7 to help serve. Does that work for you?" Was everyone he emailed here tonight? This could be a problem…

"Ah, I think there's some mistake. I was planning on sending a check like I always do."

"Are you sure, you're on my schedule and I received your email."

"Email? _Email_?" Usagi-san was starting to look alarmed.

"Yes, well, why don't we discuss this later." The woman ran off.

"Usagi-san!" Another woman came up. "I just want to say I was touched when I saw your letter of condolences about my beloved Keichi-kun. Most executives wouldn't have bothered to send an email for their subordinate's dead Pomeranian, but this Pomeranian was beloved to me. Keichi-kun will be missed. Thank you."

Usagi-san looked overwhelmed and shocked. Maybe Misaki had gotten carried away when he sent off all those emails. They had seemed so harmless and making people feel so good, but maybe he'd taken it a bit too far. It was easy to see that now, but somehow when he was sending them, he'd been in a zone and it had all seemed so beneficial and good.

Usagi-san stared darkly at Misaki then looked at the woman, who went off. Too bad Usagi-san hadn't seen the amazing poem Misaki had whipped up full of pathos and sympathy. Or on second thought maybe it was better he hadn't.

"So, Takahashi-kun, how very interesting to hear about all the emails I've been sending lately."

Misaki bowed multiple times. "I'm so sorry so sorry so sorry!"

"Like that helps."

"I just thought you'd enjoy serving people who can't normally afford a fancy dinner."

"So why didn't you just volunteer yourself instead?"

"I thought it would be a good experience for you."

"And the condolences card was you as well? Seriously? Anything else you've been busy with?"

Before Misaki could respond a man about his height with curly hair came up.

"Usami-san! So nice to see you. Are you as excited as I am about our trip? I'm especially looking forward to Chiang Dao." A man with curly brown hair slapped Usagi-san on the back.

"Chiang-dao?"

"Yes. I was surprised to see you sign up for the 10-day trip to Thailand, but you're not going to regret it. It's going to be amazing."

"_Thailand_?" Misaki really should have made a list of all the emails he'd written because he'd completely forgotten about that one. But didn't Usagi-san want to go to Thailand? Misaki would have signed up in a heartbeat.

"Usami-san, this better not be a joke." Another woman who looked frighteningly fierce practically threw a paper at him. "It's my resume. I'm not sure why it took you so long to come up with this, but better late than never, and I have a lot of ideas I think you might be interested in."

"Oda-san?" Poor Usagi-san looked more than a little beleaguered at this point.

"Just read it with an open mind. That's all I'm asking." The woman ran off.

Misaki watched as Usagi-san turned around and his look went from shock to anger. And to think he'd just been smiling at him and giving him praise...

"You have sixty seconds to explain."

"I sent an email."

"Okay that's obvious. Just who did you send it to?"

"I think it was something like usami-industries global."

"You do know that goes to the entire Usami Industries?"

"Well… yes…"

"You're saying you sent an email as me to everyone at Usami Industries saying what exactly?"

"I was just trying to spread positivity. I said you appreciate them and wanted to hear their ideas about bettering the company. Only the replies were all over the place. Somebody thought you were firing people and others thought it was about a job opportunity. I didn't realize it would be such a mess."

"How many emails did you send?"

"I didn't send that many. I thought I was helping." Misaki blushed in embarrassment and shame.

"Do you know that I would have fired you if you were my PA? Not only that but I'd bring the law on you for sending fraudulent emails. Do you even know how much trouble you should be in right now? Instead the only recourse I have is to ask for the phone back and that you-"

"Aki-chan!" Misaki turned up to see who could call Usagi-san Aki-chan and not be roasted alive and saw Usagi-san's expression change to a happy, even fanboyish expression.

"Sumi-sensei! I didn't think you'd be here!"

"That's my line, Aki-chan." _Aki-chan_. Who knew that deep down this powerful man had an Aki-chan inside somewhere. "I figured I'd drop in late and skip Isaka-san's boring speech." Sumi-sensei was a man in his mid to late fifties, dressed in a yukata and wearing glasses.

"Good idea. I should have done the same thing."

"Did you get my email?"

"I was worried you hadn't see mine."

"Ah, about the nominations for the Deal of the Year award?"

"Amongst other things." As the two men started to get immersed in their conversation, Misaki figured it would be a good time to make a getaway and started to take a few steps to the side.

"Aki-chan, you're not going to introduce me to your _friend_?" The emphasis on friend was subtle but it was clear Sumi-sensei knew about Usagi-san's homosexuality. Usagi-san rolled his eyes, and probably realized it was better to just do the introductions than make a big deal.

"Yes. Sumi-sensei this is Takahashi Misaki. Takahashi Misaki, Sumi Ryouichi-sensei head of Usami Group and world-renowned novelist."

"Ah, not so world renowned, it's just a hobby."

"Just a hobby which has led to winning the Kikukawa prize amongst others."

"It's nice to meet you Sumi-sensei." Misaki bowed politely. Misaki had researched the man. He'd not only been head of Usami Group, but he had also made a career for himself as a novelist. Now that he thought of it Misaki had read up on Usagi-san and he had also published two novels when he was still in university. He'd even been shortlisted for the Naoki prize one year and had won the Akatugawa prize the following year but had afterward disappeared from literature.

"Takahashi-kun, do you work at Marukawa Shoten?"

"Actually, I'm a physical therapist." Misaki smiled.

"Impressive. That's one of those professions where you need somebody who knows what they're doing otherwise it can do more harm than good. I've had back and neck problems and somehow my doctor isn't managing to solve the problem."

"Kirishima Zen-san in our practice is amazing. He does miracles with deep-tissue massage."

"That sounds intriguing. Do you happen to have a business card?"

"Of course." Misaki tried not to sound excited as he whipped out one from his back pocket and handed it to Sumi-sensei. "We're located in Chiyoda which is conveniently near Usami Industries."

"Sumi-sensei, what a pleasant surprise." Misaki blinked as he recognized the bleached blonde man from before who had referred to usagi-san as an 'asshole.' And now he was patting the man on the back and acting all chummy.

"Oh, and Usami-san, an equally nice surprise." The man's smile looked fake and Misaki and Usagi-san didn't seem to appreciate the pat on the back either.

"Shinoda-san."

Before that could continue yet another person ran up to Usagi-san.

"Usami-san!" Oh no, somebody else was going to drive Usagi-san nuts, and Misaki was sure he hadn't sent any more emails either.

"It's going to be wonderful having you on the exchange program to Ghana." Oh. _That email._ If only Misaki had stopped sending so many emails this wouldn't be happening. Usagi-san was starting to turn darker and stormier if that was even possible; the man continued, completely oblivious. "I just need you to email with how many orphans you're sponsoring, at your convenience of course. I'll see you at work."

"Yes, I'll email you." After he kills me, Misaki thought.

Sumi-sensei left. The man was so polite and at the same radiated a quiet authority. No wonder Usagi-san idolized him.

Then Usagi-san held out his palm and Misaki wondered if he was thinking of throttling him with it.

"Takahashi. The phone." Misaki laughed nervously which drove him nuts but couldn't seem to stop doing since all the people started showing up tonight.

"Ah! Usami-san! Can we just wait a day or two? It's just I didn't get a replacement yet, so I don't have another number."

"Give me the phone. _Now_."

"Usagi-san, I know I really messed up here and I understand why you're angry. I'll just finish forwarding the emails and then I'll send it to you tomorrow. That way I can wrap everything up and save my photos. Please." Misaki did the sweetest saddest look he could muster.

"Fine. But no emails sent as me. None."

"Of course. No emails!"

"And you'll send me copies of all the emails you sent so I can fix the mess you made."

"Yes!"

"Then you'll give me the phone and it's goodbye forever."

"Fine. I'll meet you at your office if you like."

"No no no no no! That won't be necessary! We'll meet for lunch. I'll mail you the details. Is there anything you've forgotten to tell me? Maybe an expedition to Mount Everest?" Another bereavement letter for somebody's pet hamster?"

"No. There shouldn't be anything else. I'm just so sorry. I would do anything to fix it. I really thought I was helping."

"Hah? Helping?" Usagi-san looked so upset and frustrated and he had every right to be.

A tall man with black hair lurched over. He looked a little like Yoh if he was maybe ten years younger. It became obvious that the man was drunk as he staggered over to Usagi-san while fluttering his eyelashes, which was just cringeworthy. It was almost like watching a Shojo anime only less sparkly and more nauseating. The man had his tie around his head in stereotypical drunk salaryman fashion only he'd untucked his shirt and had it mostly unbuttoned in what he'd obviously thought was seductive and alluring, and well, wasn't.

"Akihiko-sama, I'd like a quick word."

"Is everything alright?"

"I just wanted to tell you how excited I am to see you tomorrow. Alone. In your office."

"I'm not sure I'm following. Were we supposed to meet for any particular reason?"

"Ah. Playing tsundere now." He draped himself -well really smushed himself against Usagi-san and probably thought brushing a fingernail down Usagi-san's cheek, wouldn't be as creepy as it was. "You know what I like, Akihiko-sama."

"Hasegawa-san, I think there's been a misunderstanding."

_Hasegawa-san_? Misaki tried not to gasp. So, he hadn't been mistaken in thinking those xxs on Hasegawa's email spelled trouble. He should have sent that clarification email after all and now poor Usagi-san was going to get even more humiliated. Misaki wanted to melt into a puddle and seep into the floorboards. He tried to send telepathic messages. _Run away, now!_

"The first time I saw you I wanted you. But all this time you've been so cold to me. Then you sent me that flirty birthday email and that sweet compliment. And I knew the truth, so you don't need to hide anymore. Show me the real Akihiko." he grabbed Usagi-san's arm and wrapped it around him.

"_Birthday email?"_ Usagi-san cried out horrified. Which is when Misaki realized he was doomed.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

_Nii-chan, I really messed up this time. What do I do now?_

Misaki groaned as he remembered last night's disaster, which had been a direct consequence of his own careless behavior. All that time he thought he was helping Usagi-san he had really been doing the exact opposite, and truthfully, he had let himself get carried away, and as a result he'd caused the man a lot of work and grief. It was kind of like when he was nine and decided to surprise Nii-chan with a home-made dinner, and not only had he failed at making dinner, but he'd trashed the kitchen. He hadn't known that how exhausted someone could be after a hard day at work either. Something good had come out of it at least. Nii-chan had ended up teaching him how to cook. Here, there would be no free workshops on how not to make a complete screw up of yourself while forwarding emails.

So instead of working on wedding and honeymoon preparations, he was stuck going to this overpriced western restaurant and being forced to confront a man who hated him now. Usagi-san had made it sound like it was a cheap cafe or a family diner, but then again, he was rich, so maybe to him a restaurant where no entree was cheaper than 3000 yen would seem inexpensive? Everyone in the restaurant was dressed in business attire and he knew he was in hot water when he noticed the menu didn't even have yen signs on the prices, like they had exceeded the limitations of currency.

Soup would have to do it. Cream of Asparagus didn't seem too bad and would be filling for half the price of an entrée, and he could always supplement it later with a snack later.

Misaki recognized some women from the Marukawa event seated at another table. According to Usagi-san this was a popular lunch spot for Usami Industries employees. Usagi-san entered the restaurant and walked over to the group of women. He couldn't hear the conversation, but the silver haired man seemed to be enjoying himself or at least pretending to as he smiled and conversed with his subordinates.

As Usagi-san left the women and walked over to Misaki's table his congenial smile was replaced by the same dark aura he had from last night, and Misaki tried to calm himself. The man was glaring at him like he was restraining himself from yelling or becoming violent, and who could blame him?

"Takahashi."

Misaki handed him the folder he'd sent hours preparing that morning. "Hi. I emailed you everything I sent, and I've printed it all here as well. I've also forwarded your new emails. I really am so sorry." Getting up he bowed.

The waiter showed up with bread and water and Usagi-san put the folder aside. Misaki had been dreading him taking out a red pen and going over everything email by email.

"So, uh, the women you were talking to. They're from Usami Industries?"

"Yes. As a matter of fact, we were discussing your initiative. Amazingly enough it's gotten a favorable response in multiple departments."

"My initiative? The global email? Have you gotten any interesting concepts?"

"Yes. Your initiative. Like I'd ever done something as irresponsible. Never mind. We have received some interesting ideas which we're considering exploring."

"Amazing."

"Before you pat yourself on the back, we've also had to handle the people who think this was all a plan to lay off a quarter of the company or the lady who threatened legal action. Still, most of the emails have been positive, I have to admit."

A tall gorgeous green-haired waiter with spiky non-poufy hair took their order while subtly flirting with Usagi-san and spent so long on the specials Misaki felt relieved he'd already planned his order.

"Cream of Asparagus soup, please."

"Filet mignon and the house salad."

The waiter left after a quick flirtatious smile to Usagi-san. There was at least a 75% chance the man would be leaving his phone # on the back of the receipt. Not like it was Misaki's business, but he couldn't help wondering if that happened often. It wouldn't surprise him. The man was tall, and not just handsome but strikingly so, and so unique looking with his silver hair and those beautiful violet eyes. why was he thinking of Usagi-san's features now?

"So Usami-san, is there anything I can do to fix my mistakes? Maybe I can send the follow-up emails for you?"

"You? Send _more _emails?" The man looked horrified. "That won't be necessary. I just got a new PA this morning, and she'll be taking care of everything. She's sending a routine ignore-goodbye reply email."

"Ignore goodbye reply?" Misaki tried to process how the words fit together and failed.

"A reply that's really a goodbye_. Thank you for contacting Usami Industries. Usami-san has received your email. Someone will endeavor to reply._ Except, nobody ever endeavors to reply, but it's vague and oh polite. Everyone's got an email like this."

"I don't understand what you mean. Why would I bother sending an email like that when the whole point is to communicate; to connect and understand one another?"

"Ah. Of course. And to think I was sharing a phone with somebody like you. No wonder it was such a disaster."

"Well, congratulations because it's yours now." Misaki took it out, put it on the table and pushed it over towards Usagi-san.

"What the hell is this, Takahashi?" Misaki didn't get it at first then he realized the man was getting annoyed about a phone strap.

"Ah. It's a limited-edition Santa Kan phone strap. Thanks. I wouldn't want to lose that. I had to send in 36 postcards to win it, and it's very valuable. He's a character from my favorite manga of all time."

"Santa Kan? That sounds vaguely familiar."

"You read manga, Usagi-san?" Misaki sounded so excited as he worked on freeing his phone strap.

"Not when I can avoid it."

"You're missing so much!"

Their food arrived and Misaki stowed his precious phone strap in the small pocket of his shoulder bag and picked up his spoon, which watching Usagi-san carefully prepare to eat his meal. The man was such a polite eater. He put one spoonful of his mouth. Cold. Maybe he'd just eat the bread and grab something from a convenience store later?

"Am I taking you away from your office, Takahashi?"

"No. I took a few days off work to get ready for the wedding, but I'm not as busy as I thought I'd be."

He had been planning on going on wedding errands with Takatsuki-san but hadn't been needed or wanted in the end, which had freed up his entire morning, although preparing the emails and printing them out had taken some of the time.

"Is something wrong with your soup? It's cold isn't it? It didn't look that hot when they brought it."

"It's fine. Isn't it healthier to not eat extremely hot things? There's no need to make a big deal."

Takatsuki-san messaged asking about the dessert table and if there was too much of an imbalance of chocolate. Was this so hard to figure out? Still. He couldn't exactly anger the man.

_I trust your judgment, Takatsuki-san! :) _

And another mail from Kyo-san. Misaki showed it to Usagi-san.

"There's mail from Kyo-san." Was that a quick flash of sadness on Usagi-san's face as he \waved the phone away? It was too bad Misaki couldn't find out more about this mysterious man. He must be out of this world to make up for his dramatics and horrible poetry. All he knew about their relationship was an email from the mysterious lover mentioning how they'd met at a Marukawa party years ago, and if only Kyo had known how Usagi-san would have messed him up he never would have gone, except he'd never want that because how could he imagine a life without his precious Akihiko! This man used a ton of exclamation marks in his writing. Maybe he was a romance writer?

"So, you got a new phone?"

"That's where I'm headed next unless you want to sell this one to me?"

"Takahashi-kun, you seriously expect me to sell you a company phone which has private information on it to the man who just caused hours and hours of work for me? Why I even lent it to a thief in the first place... What I should have done was call the police."

"I told you multiple times it was in the garbage!"

"Excellent logic. And if you'd found my wallet in the trash it would have been fine for you use the credit cards and the cash?

"No, and it's not the same thing! Anyway, what's going to happen to the phone in the end?"

"We'll delete all the data and the tech department will reset it which is what we should have done in the first place."

"That makes sense." Misaki frowned. It had been so weird having a phone which had somebody else's emails on it, and yet, now that he was giving it back, he felt sad saying goodbye.

"I'll send you my phone number in case I get messages."

"Fine. the PA will take care of all that. She's smart and quick, so hopefully this should work, assuming she doesn't randomly quit like the last one. Now, that's taken care of, can you tell me exactly what you messaged Hasegawa?"

"Ah. Yes. I might have by accident put some xxs in the text when I told him you had a birthday gift from the company in your office. They just sort of got in there somehow."

"Xxxs as in _kisses_? And they just _happened _to have gotten in there… What the fuck does that even mean? Do you even use your _brain _when you're typing?'' The poor man was starting to look as bad as he'd been at the party. It couldn't be good for his health.

"I'm sorry. It was just reflexive, like how I press control-s all the time because one time I'd finished this huge research project for my biology class and my computer crashed and it was gone. It's like that, only it's… kisses and hugs."

"Kisses and hugs. Are you even Japanese?"

"Hey, didn't anyone tell you it's rude to stereotype people?"

"I'm allowed. It's my fucking country. So, it turns out Hasegawa had a huge crush on me, and because of your 'friendly' text messages which were supposed to be from me, he acted like a complete idiot and I had to deal with it and I could have been outed in front of hundreds of people."

'That is so ridiculous. The only person in danger of being outed was Hasegawa-san. Secondly are we living in the Taisho era? What's so wrong if people found out?"

"Maybe you wouldn't appreciate this, being somebody who sends kisses and hugs like they're handshakes, but I happen to be a private person and my personal life needs to stay private. And even if that hadn't been an issue, the man was making a complete fool of himself all because of _you_."

"Yeah, that was kind of embarrassing to watch. Poor guy."

"He's not even my type. Not that makes a difference."

"Ah." Misaki was about to ask him who his type was but he figured it must be brilliant poets named Kyo who were slightly unhinged.

Suddenly Usagi-san reached for the phone and started looking at the messages.

"Hey! What are you doing with my- I mean your phone? Those messages are private!"

"What's that expression in English? You know English right? _The shoe sure pinches when it's on the other foot._" Misaki was still trying to translate and process the sentence when he noticed his accent. It was kind of sexy. Well in a completely not so sexy way of course.

"Usagi-san? Why do you have an English accent?"

"I lived there until I was ten, and I was actually trying to sound American, but never mind. Translated it means it's not as much fun when somebody is looking at your private messages is it? Now let's see here…"

Misaki absentmindedly took a sip of his soup, then remembered it was cold and took another piece of baguette.

"Look at all my messages. I have nothing to hide. I'm personable and friendly in all my communications. People like that." Misaki frowned into his chilled soup. He wasn't sure what Usagi-san was reading, but as he clicked and scrolled the man kept looking at him like he was pathetic. He hated when people did this. He glared at the older man who appeared to be oblivious, but then put down the phone and and looked up at Misaki. His voice was calm but softer now, which caught Misaki off guard. It was different from before; it was still sympathetic but without the 'you're such a pathetic boy' look, just a look of genuine interest.

"Takahashi-kun, do you have a problem if people don't like you?"

"What do you mean? Everybody wants to be liked."

"You're right, but you come across as someone who's begging to be loved. Everything about your behavior just screams 'don't reject me! Like me!' and It's kind of sad. It doesn't seem very effective either."

Misaki's smile froze and he glared at the older man.

"What? Are you some sort of psychologist now? That's total bullshit!"

"Are you so sure about that? Listen to this message." He changed his voice so he sounded kind of air-headed which would have been amusing if it wasn't his impression of Misaki. _Harada-san, can I move my haircut appointment for later like maybe for six? It's not a problem, but it would be a real help. I hope it's not a big deal to ask. Thanks for everything! Xxoooxxx Takahashi Misaki_

"Okay. You're on a last name basis with Harada-san, yet you're sending him kisses and hugs? And that doesn't seem inappropriate? Who is this Harada-san anyway?"

"_She's_ the receptionist and haircuts are important!" Otherwise his hair would get even poofier.

"You don't know her, but feel the need to ingratiate yourself to the point where you can't even ask for something without apologizing? Making and changing appointments is what she does for a living. All you needed to say was you needed to change your appointment time."

"It's called being friendly."

"It's a business transaction, not planning a playdate with your school friends."

He scrolled through more messages.

"And who's Takatsuki-kun?"

"Ah, he's my wedding planner."

"Got it For a wedding planner he doesn't seem to do much of the planning. He seems to spend most of his time on stupid trivialities while you do the actual work. Why is he making you do all this crap when that's _his _job?"

"He's taken care of some important tasks."

"Like finding the caterer, photographer, and hiring cars?"

"Ah… I might have taken care of those details, but I had some time on my hands…"

"He orders you around, has a major attitude problem and you're _paying _him to do it? I'd be telling him, 'Takatsuki-san, you're working for _me_, so do your job and quit the attitude."

"The thing is his family and the Miyagis are very close."

"Miyagi?"

"As in my in-laws, the famous academics I told you about and not only are the Takatsukis close with the Miyagis but his father is my fiancé's boss. So, he's part of the same academic world as theirs-"

Misaki blinked in surprise as he saw Usagi-san move Misaki's soup bowl over and take a small sip.

"This should be sent back. It's inedible."

"No! It's fine, because I ate a big breakfast." Misaki started laughing awkwardly. He really needed to stop himself from doing that.

"Do you always laugh like that when you're nervous?"

"I'm not nervous!"

"You're such a conundrum you know? You seem so fierce and outspoken, but deep inside you have the self-confidence the size of a sesame seed."

"That's not true!"

"It's cute, but sad at the same time."

"Look, maybe you don't realize this because you're in the same league as them, so maybe you'd be fine being engaged to a family of brilliant people but I'm-"

"What are you even talking about?"

"Most people don't get the Akatugawa prize for their debut novel when they're still in university."

"Ah. You found out about that. That could be true. Although it was my second novel. The first didn't get a prize."

"Okay, but I seem to recall reading you were shortlisted for the Naoki prize for that novel?"

"It's a little more complicated, but yes. Can we go back to what we were talking about? You act like the Miyagis are gods. I'm surprised you haven't taken to bowing to them and calling them your saviors."

"They're brilliant people and I'm just-"

Suddenly the bleached blonde man from last night named Shinoda came up and shook Usagi-san's hand. He looked extremely smarmy.

"Usami-san, I see you're having your usual."

Usagi-san waved over a waiter and said, "Nothing surprises you." His smile not quite meeting his eyes. "Waiter, this soup is cold can I have a new bowl, please? Shinoda, I'm not sure if you met my guest last night? Takahashi-kun this is Shinoda-san. Shinoda Daisuke, Takahashi Misaki."

"Nice to meet you."

Misaki greeted him. What was wrong with this man. He'd acted like he detested Usagi-san and yet now he was acting all chummy with him?

"Did the meeting with Kodansha go well?"

"Yes. You were missed though. Takahashi-kun, Usami-san is one of the most brilliant men in the country. It's only a matter of months before Sumi-sensei hands the entire corporation over to you. Well I better be off. I'll see you at the conference. You'll be there this evening?"

"Tomorrow. Still finishing things up here."

"All right. Nice meeting you Takashi-kun."

Misaki didn't bother correcting him. As soon as the blonde was out of earshot, he leaned over and whispered, "did you know he was calling you an asshole last night?"

"Sounds like Shinoda-san." Misaki was shocked at Usagi-san's reaction. If anything, he was amused by it.

At the sight of a hot bowl of soup, Misaki's stomach started growling. He hadn't realized how hungry he'd gotten.

"Thanks so much. Itadakimasu!"

"I'm glad you can enjoy your meal now."

"So why did Shinoda-san call you an asshole?"

"Shinoda-san rather wishes he had been promoted to CEO of Usami Industries instead of me and thinks it was nepotism that cinched the deal. Which is bullshit, but there's no arguing with some people. And a few months ago, we needed to do a reorganization which pissed him off, and I ended up quietly firing one of his key people. Really, we should have sued him, but Sumi-sensei wanted to keep it quiet."

"Ah, are you talking about Okamato Kondo?"

"Yes. How did you find out?"

"I might have done a few web searches on the company in my spare time."

"Alright, then you know about Okamato-san suing us for dismissing him unfairly. What you might not know was Okamato-san wanted Shinoda-san promoted to CEO and had used dubious methods to help him."

This whole thing sounded so complicated. The worst he had to deal with at Physios-R-Us was Kisa-san being cranky because he hadn't had his morning doriyaki and coffee. This was more like the plot to one of those confusing spy films. It was good he didn't work there; he'd never get any actual work done. He'd be too busy trying to figure out all the inter office politics.

"So Namiki Kenta? He's with Shinoda? He always seems arrogant and nasty in his emails."

"Takahashi-kun, exactly how many of my emails were you reading?"

"Uh, not that many. Just maybe most of them. Like Kyo-san's. Does he work on the same floor as you?"

"_Kyo-san_? Oh… Kyo-san. No. He doesn't work for us at all. I'm not sure where you got that impression."

Misaki tried to see if he could get some sort of response. It really wasn't his business, but he was dying to know what it was like being engaged to a guy like Kyo-san. Usagi-san studied him for a moment and looked a little sad.

"Takahashi-kun, can I talk to you about something, as someone who's gotten to know you a little bit?"

Oh no. Usagi-san was going to lecture him more on his communication style and on the proper usage of emojis.

"I know this isn't my business. I've never gotten married, so I've never had in-laws. I also don't know you that well and really don't know much about your past either."

Misaki started blushing without really knowing why.

"Yes. You're right. You've never met-"

"At the same time, I've gotten a glimmer of an idea of how you are, I find it… sad that you're marrying someone when you don't feel like you're their equal. It just seems wrong."

"What are you talking about? I am equal to him. We have a very open and mature relationship and I know we have different strengths and weaknesses. He's very down to earth with me. It's hist parents…"

"But you act like he and his parents are much better than you are, and I don't understand why. You're a successful medical professional. You're healthy and you're also… good looking. Why do you think they're so much better than you are?"

"Maybe, because they're brilliant? Yoh's going to be on television this fall. His parents write books, give talks, travel all over the world and are on television! They're geniuses and I'm just this regular guy whose brother's a salaryman. You know him, so you must understand what I'm talking about."

"I knew him. We haven't been in touch since he left high school though. And your parents?"

"They died fourteen years ago in a car crash. I thought we'd gone over this, Usami-san."

"Yeah. You're right. I'm sorry."

"It's okay. Nii-chan raised me and I was fine! And my uncle was around a lot. He and his wife own a dental practice. I grew up to be completely normal and functional and everything."

"Got it. Now I understand."

"I don't know what you understand but just because I'm an orphan doesn't mean I'm some sorry creature to be pitied." Misaki bit his lip and frowned.

"You misunderstood. I'm just saying this explains your obsession with timely dental appointments."

"Oh. Okay, fine, maybe you're right there. They kind of engrained it in us."

"Look. I don't know what it's like to be you, but I am close with somebody who lost his father. He was older than you when it happened, but it wasn't something he could bounce back from. He still has a hard time with it. He said nobody understood him."

"I don't have any problems with losing my parents. It was eighteen years ago. I've moved on."

"That's what he used to say too, because it was easier to say that then say how he really felt. Most people didn't really want to know either. They just want to sound like they care."

Misaki started blinking back tears. This couldn't be happening. He hadn't cry about his parents in years, why _now_? And this man had no idea how it was like. None.

"Stop. I don't need your sympathy. You have no clue what this is like, so just _stop_." He sipped his water and looked away while he tried to recover his composure.

"You're right. I don't know what it was like for you."

"Can't we just move on to something else? Please." He couldn't cry. Not now.

Misaki concentrated on the water condensation on his glass as he finished the soup. Thankfully Usagi-san didn't press, and they concentrated on finishing their meal. Misaki took out some bills, after he finished the last spoonful.

"I want to pay for my share."

"Fine." Usagi-san was smirking now. Good. Smirking was a lot better than look of pity he'd had. Even his dark aura had been preferable. He just needed to get out of here before the man started talking about losing a parent as if he knew all about Misaki, because he had one friend who'd lost his father.

"Here's your phone, Usagi-san. Thanks." He slid the phone back over. "Have a nice life."

Instead of taking it the other man just looked at him. And it was back. That look that meant 'how sad and pathetic you are, Takahashi-kun.'

"Takahashi-kun, how do you handle times when you need to confront people?"

"I'm never in situations like that. I don't think there's a need."

"Okay, that explains a lot. No wonder you have communication problems."

"I don't have any communication problems. You're the one who's _horrible_ with people!"

"Really now." The man was smiling broadly. _Jerk_! "I dare you to be confrontational in your next email with somebody."

"So, I can be as nasty as you are? I mean uh… that's to say… I don't really mean that."

"Just very curt and to the point?"

"Yes."

"Fine. But when I look at your messages and emails, I see a man trying so hard not to be a burden to anyone, to the point where he's letting people walk all over him just because he feels like they're better than he is."

As if to emphasize his point it he took the phone and switched to the notepad app and showed it to Misaki.

It was the list he'd made at the pre-wedding party in all it's embarrassing glory.

Get book on Norse mythology - become expert on weaponry

More Basho poetry - Get audiobook and listen while commuting?

Brontës - memorize more book summaries.

Hair is too poufy - find out once and for all how to tame it

For future reference I am a hypochondriac

Learn to love goulash

"This is totally not your business."

"You're right. It's not my business, but do you really want to spend the rest of your life thinking you're beneath your husband and his parents? Isn't it time you stood up for yourself and show some confidence?"

Misaki sat back down. He was right. The guy was right. And he was starting to cry. He couldn't cry. He blinked the tears down somewhat successfully and looked down at his napkin.

"But how am I supposed to even do that?"

"Well for a start you can ask them what they really think about you. For instance, your in-laws. All you need to do is meet them in person and ask one question: 'Miyagi-Chichi, Miyagi-Haha, you act like I'm beneath you. Is this how you feel or am I just imagining it?'"

"Are you kidding me? I can't ask them that! Nobody talks like that!"

"Do you know what I have to do after lunch? I had to tell the CFO that his reports are sloppy, and his colleagues and subordinates are having a problem with his flatulence issues."

"What?"

"Yes. Well, I'll need to phrase that last part sensitively. It's a good thing Sumi-sensei taught me a lot about interpersonal relations. Maybe you want to come along to a meeting? It might be a good learning experience. If you have time."

"Okay, why not." And he was curious on how Usagi-san was going to handle the flatulence. He pointed to the phone.

"I'll just watch over this for you."

"Fine."

Misaki grinned as he picked up the phone.


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

Misaki watched as a security guard prepare a photo badge in less than two minutes. Usami Industries was situated in a 20-floor modern skyscraper. It was new, fancy and high-tech, which was more than a little ironic since their IT department still hadn't managed to forward Usagi-san's emails properly. It certainly beat Physios-R-Us, though, with their single receptionist and sign-in-sheet with a pen attached to it with string but was always either out of ink or missing.

Physios-R-Us could learn from Usami Industries. They had two coffee pod machines and a nice fridge, which would help for those days when Aikawa decided to go a decaf kick and then made huge pots of the stuff while neglecting to tell anyone until Misaki wondered why he was getting a headache and about to fall asleep. He'd have a lot to talk about at their next staff meeting!

"Usami-san." Misaki turned around and saw someone approach them with a bright smile on his face, which reminded him of the last time he'd seen people with that sort of expression; last night at the Marukawa party when everything he had so sure he'd handled perfectly had blown up in his face. "I got your donation for the Ghana trip. This is going to be an unforgettable trip especially now with Sumi-sensei joining. Thanks again."

As soon as the man was out of earshot Misaki couldn't resist commenting. "Wow. Sounds like that wasn't the disaster I thought it was. You donated?"

"A small donation. It's not a big deal. And you're forgetting the part where I had to explain why I was no longer available to join them on the trip, which was annoying and awkward."

"Ah, but he seemed so happy that you donated." Misaki saw a familiar face. Mino Kanade. "Usagi-san, the man walking in our direction just got engaged. Mino Kanade. Not to tell you what to do but you might want to say congratulations."

"You don't seem to have learned your lesson, Takahashi-kun, although you do seem to know half the employees in the company. Okay, _fine_. I'll talk to him. Do you always get your way by pulling a ridiculous pouty face?"

"Ah… well…" Misaki nervously laughed. "Yes, actually." Usagi-san rolled his eyes and started walking over to Mino-san.

"Mino-san?"

Mino-san turned around with a surprised look on his face.

"Usami-san, is everything alright?"

"Fine. I just wanted… to wish… you… congratulations on your engagement." Usagi-san sounded painfully awkward.

"Thank you very much. I'm just heading to a meeting." The man was obviously trying to be polite while not showing how freaked out he was and failing. As Usagi-san came back he shook his head.

"Did you see how awkward that was?"

"Only because nobody's used to you being like this. It will get less awkward when they're used to it and so are you."

"What if I don't want it to get less awkward. Life was perfectly fine when I concentrated on business and not interpersonal relations. You're ruining my reputation."

"You mean improving it? Because this is going to benefit _you_ in the end."

"Right, like how Hasegawa benefited me by feeling me up and then almost vomiting on my shoes."

"He _felt you up_?" _What a jerk!_

"0kay, changing the subject now, welcome to my office."

The office space was appropriate for his position CEO of the largest branch of the Usami Group. It was the size of Misaki's apartment. One wall consisted of windows. He didn't realize how close they were to the Tokyo Tower. Usagi-san had a gorgeous view of it. There was a leather three-seater couch, a small desk, presumably for the PA and father down a huge desk for Usami-san.

"Takahashi-kun, make yourself comfortable. I have something I need to attend to before the meeting. I'll be back."

Misaki looked at Usagi-san's desk hoping for a discreetly placed photo of Kyo-san but wasn't so surprised that there wasn't any. The man had made it quite clear how closeted he was, and he couldn't really blame him. Physios-R-Us might have an ancient fridge, but at least he could be himself there, and have a picture of Yoh on his desk. It helped that the founder was in a long-term committed relationship with a man. As he thought of closets, he noticed a door and wondered if it was for coats. Usagi-san seemed to read his mind.

"That's a washroom. Feel free to use it. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Misaki waited for the taller man to leave and headed to the washroom. That had been practically an invitation and judging from how fancy this place was, he had to check it out. Maybe there would even have a lion decoration on the sink, although wasn't that more of a tub motif? He was more than a little disappointed when he found himself in a regular bathroom. The only addition that was different from a typical office bathroom was the shower, probably for those late nights in the office when Usagi-san was too busy to go home and have a proper bath. He opened the door then turned around and checked himself in the mirror and frowned. He really needed a haircut. As he was smoothing his hair, he saw a reflection of somebody who wasn't Usagi-san walking into the office from the mirror. Maybe Kyo-san had come over. He seemed like a man who would be interested in randomly dropping in on his fiancé. Usagi-san came in right after him. Misaki looked down and frowned. Had he really been walking along all this time with an obvious soup stain on his shirt pocket?

"Asahina-san, everything okay?" He heard Usagi-san's voice. Asahina-san… Of course. That was the guy who was head of PR.

"No. Nothing is okay, Usami-san. In fact, everything is very much not okay. Look at this memo. It was leaked to NHK fifteen minutes ago. Luckily for us, they called me asking for a statement, but they're planning on putting this as a major story in tonight's news." Usagi-san took the memo and read it quickly.

"What the hell is this?"

"It's a memo from Sumi-sensei accepting a bribe from Japan Petroleum."

"What the actual…" Misaki watch Usagi-san study the memo more carefully. "No. Sumi-sensei did not send this. I saw the memo he sent to Japan Petroleum and there was nothing about bribes in it. This is… wrong!"

"You're telling _me_? Are you forgetting what my position is? And it doesn't help that Sensei has connections with multiple committees in the government. This really doesn't look good."

"I'm telling you Sumi-sensei didn't send this."

"How interesting. He said the same thing." Misaki peered out from the bathroom. This was becoming rapidly awkward.

"Of course, Sense's going to say the same thing. It's the truth. And I'll prove it to you because I have the original memo. Come here." Usagi-san went to his desk and seemed to be checking his computer. His confident visage changed to shock and horror. "No. This… can't be. Something happened. Somebody replaced the memo. Shiiba-san got it too. I'll check my email. Crap. It wasn't sent to me it was sent to Takada-san. What did Shiiba-san say?"

"He didn't have the email or the memo."

"And that doesn't sound suspicious to you?"

"Look, the IT department have been on this for almost two hours already. They've gotten nothing."

"Alright. Here's what we do. Usami Group sends a press release ahead of the newscast backing Sumi-sensei and that the memo is a forgery. There's just no way Sumi-sensei could have written it. I've known him since I was little. Let me look at it one more time… This isn't even his writing style. It screams 'fake.'"

Misaki was trying a way to somehow leave the bathroom without being noticed when his phone rung loudly. Sumi-Sensei. It didn't seem likely he'd have found the time to make a physio appointment. It was obviously for Usagi-san. He gingerly left the bathroom with his phone outstretched.

"Ah… Usami-san, you have a phone call. It appears to be Sumi-sensei."

"Who is this, Usami-san? Your PA? I thought your PA was a woman." Asahina looked at Misaki dubiously as he handed Usagi-san the phone.

"It's a bit complicated." He picked up the phone. "Sensei? I heard about the so-called memo. Don't worry. Just a moment." He lowered the phone and spoke to Misaki. "I'll be back."

Asahina was staring at Misaki like he was a criminal. "How much of the conversation l did you hear?" Maybe this Asahina-san was in the wrong line of work. He sounded like he'd do great as an interrogator.

"Not much really. I mean I heard some of it, but I wasn't really paying attention." Why was he nervous when he hadn't done anything? It wasn't like he asked Asahina and Usagi-san to have a confidential conversation where he could hear everything clearly! Asahina kept looking at him suspiciously. Seriously this guy belonged in the Metropolitan Police.

"Sensei, how many times have I given you my direct phone number and you still call the PA's?" Usagi-san muttered to himself while rubbing his forehead as he walked over. "Asahina, I'm going to the IT department."

"Uh, Usag-Usami-san, I was thinking could the memo be on my phone?"

"No. For security reasons, or maybe just for stupid reasons, mail older than 2 months is automatically deleted."

"Also, The IT department already looked at the server from your mail, Takada-san's mail and Shiiba-san's mail and the only thing there is this memo."

Usagi-san must have noticed Misaki's saddened expression because he smiled slightly at him. "It was a great idea though, Takahashi-kun."

Asahina looked from Usagi-san to Misaki.

"Usami-san, who is this man? Does he even have a badge?

"Yes. Don't worry, I'm official." Misaki thrust the badge in the man's face while keeping his smile bright. _So, take that, jerk face and stop treating me like I'm a bad guy in a crime show._

"He's my guest. I invited him to attend a meeting which isn't happening any longer."

"With all due respect, are you trying to make my job difficult? Did you manage to forget that the whole point of my job was making the company look good and stopping leaks of sensitive information and you just brought a guest who could go to who knows with what he just heard a few minutes ago?"

"Relax, Asahina. I trust him and he's not going to reveal anything."

"I'm not going to say anything. I'm a… friend of Usami-san's. I would never do anything like that."

"It's fine, Takahashi-kun, don't worry. Asahina-san does a great job, but he's also very paranoid. Shit. They must be leaking this now because of the conference. Okay, Asahina let's go talk to the IT idiots."

Misaki watched them leave and sat down on the couch. What had Usagi-san said? Conference? Something niggled at his brain. Usami-Chichi. Hadn't Misaki emailed him suggesting he meet up with his son today, even going so far as sending him the address of the hotel in Chiba? Except Usagi-san wasn't planning on going until the next day. He checked his email and breathed a sigh of relief. The man hadn't responded so hopefully it wouldn't be a problem.

Restlessly he walked around the room and walked over to Usagi's desk. Interesting. There was a book on a shelf that just screamed photo album. He knew looking at people's belongings without permission was bad. He checked quickly to see that nobody was coming and opened it up randomly.

A graduation photo complete with cap and gown and a younger Usagi-san looking serious and proud of himself. How was it even possible for someone to be that stunning? He turned a few pages and saw what looked to be a more recent photo taken at what looked like a bar. Usagi-san was sitting with what must have been Kyo-san, who looked eerily familiar, but he couldn't place him. They both looked happy, which also made Misaki felt happy. The man didn't smile enough. He embodied the word 'serious' 24/7. So, it was heartwarming to see a picture of him looking genuinely happy. Kyo-san seemed to be about as tall as Usagi-san and equally gorgeous. They were one of those insanely hot couples… They must fight a lot, write poetry together and then have some hot sex. He blinked and put the photo album away. He really didn't want to go there. He should be emailing Usagi-Chichi and telling him Usagi-san wouldn't be at the conference until tomorrow.

He went back to the couch and took out his phone, which is when he heard Usagi-san's surprisingly loud voice as he entered into his office.

"And I'm telling you there's no way we're sending that press release. You're seriously telling me to betray Sumi-sensei?"

"That is not what the statement's saying. It mentions nothing about Sumi-sensei writing the memo."

"And that's exactly the problem. We need to be clear and state that Sumi-sensei didn't write this memo. It's a forgery. Sumi-sensei is being framed, and we are investigating the matter until the culprit is found."

"It's not 'we', Usami-sensei. It's Usami Group's Board of directors. Sumi-sensei can issue his own statements."

"So basically, Usami Group is going to abandon its key founder and CEO, the one person aside from my father who made the company and all of its branches the international success it is, and you don't see anything _wrong_ with that?"

"That's not the issue here and you know it. Usami Group needs to protect itself and Sumi-sensei understands this more than any of us."

"Right. Now you're going to presume to understand what Sensei is thinking? Do you even know- Oh, Shinoda-san. What do you want?"

What was it with this Shinoda-san and managing to appear each time looking slimier and more obnoxious? And there was something else that kept bothering him too but he couldn't place it.

"I'm just checking to see if we have this memo breach under control. I assume you're keeping it contained, Asahina-san?"

"Well that is my job, Shinoda-san."

Misaki took a look at Usagi-san and watched as his eyebrows narrowed and a angry look came on his face, kind of like… last night, and felt extremely grateful it wasn't directed at him but at Shinoda-san. For such a good-looking man he could be surprisingly frightening.

"Well, that's good. It would be a pity if anyone else came embroiled in it. Who'd have thought the old man would do something like that? Well he isn't as young as he used to. He must be slipping."

"You just wish you had a micro decimal of the talent Sensei possesses, instead of being a pointless bullshitter."

"Well, why don't you send him a card and tell him before he goes to prison?"

"And why don't you just… oh I don't know... _GO TO HELL?_"

Misaki blinked. That had escalated fast with Usagi-san getting right into Shinoda's face. A stressed out looking Asahina separated them.

"Okay, okay, Usami-san. Shinoda-san-"

"Don't worry. I was just leaving. Bye Usami-san." Had the guy been smirking as he left the room? Misaki blinked.

"Usami-san, beating up Shinoda-san isn't going to help Sumi-sensei."

"And doing nothing while somebody frames him is? Because that's what this is. A frame up and you know it."

"You need to calm down. You're not making any sense."

"It's the only thing that _does_ make sense. You didn't see the original memo Sensei sent. I did and so did Shiiba-san. If this isn't a conspiracy, what the fuck happened to that memo?"

"We need to keep our heads. I can tweak the press release a little but other than that we have to send it as it is."

"Fine. So just do exactly what the people who planted this memo want you to do. I hope you'll be able to live with yourself."

"Usami-san you don't understand-"

"Fine. I don't understand. What if I find the original?"

"I'd be overjoyed. Right now, we're stuck, and I'm just trying to do my job and protect the company. Sumi-sensei will hopefully understand."

'Do you know when the NHK is going to be releasing the fake memo?"

"Eight o'clock newscast which gives you," he checked his watch, "just over six hours." _Six hours!_ Misaki jumped up off the couch and ran up to the men.

"A lot can happen in that time! Don't worry, Usagi-san. Everything will be fine!" Which might not have been the greatest thing he could have done as he saw the shocked expressions on both Asahina's and Usagi-san's faces. Maybe Usagi-san wasn't used to getting an encouraging pat on the arm? Oh, and Asahina-san hadn't exactly been thrilled Misaki had been around in the first place. Well it wasn't his fault they'd forgotten him, and he _was_ trying to be helpful.

"What the hell, Usami-san? Can you tell me why this man's still here?"

"Ah. Don't worry Asahina-san. I would never say anything. I'm ready to leave."

"It's fine, Asahina. Nothing's happening. Sorry, Takahashi-kun. It's very chaotic right now. I completely forgot you were still here. Just a moment I'll get somebody to escort you out of the building."

"Thank you. I hope everything works out. This must be difficult with this conference going on. You're not going?"

"There's a lot of people so we take shifts going on busses we've rented. It's a yearly event. I was going to go tomorrow morning. Tomorrow night is the grand banquet with the message from Ojii-san." _Ojii-san?_ Usagi-san must have noticed Misaki's confused look. "It's a long-standing joke that Sumi-sensei is the grandfather of the company, so he dresses up and plays the part for his annual address. Not sure what's going to be happening this year." Usagi-san looked awkward and distressed. It didn't fit him somehow.

"I'm so sorry."

"It's not your problem."

Misaki took out the phone and handed it to Usagi-san.

"Thanks for everything."

"Good luck, Takahashi-kun."

As Misaki gave his badge to his escort and went with him in the elevator, feeling he was missing something he shouldn't be. Something about Sensei being called _Ojii-san_ sounded familiar. Suddenly he heard a voice in his head. _Sayonara Ojii-san. _ It was from right after he'd found the discarded cell phone. He'd answered the phone pretending to be the voice mail. Now if he could just remember what else was in the message… It was something about closing the backdoor and nothing left behind.

Hadn't he taken notes then? Of course. He remembered trying to find anything to write on his shoulder bag and upon finding his Za Kan movie program, being grateful he had three more at home. And it was still there in his bag. As soon as he left the building, he searched his shoulder bag and found the program. It was a bit crumpled, but he could still read his scribbles:

_May 15: Tama found a doctor. Excellent surgeon. Lock the Backdoor. Don't screw up._

_May 17: Took care of it. Didn't leave a trace. Sayonara Ojii-san._

The first message… Misaki heard that voice since. it all was clear. Shinoda-san. He'd felt a weird feeling when he'd heard the man's voice, and now he knew why. That first message was from him. He had to contact Usagi-san now.

Throwing the program back in his shoulder bag he ran into the building to the receptionist.

"Hi. I just left. I was a guest of Usami Akihiko-san. I need to see him right away. It's really urgent."

"I'm sorry. Usami-san isn't available to see anyone today."

"You don't understand. He'll want to see me. I have information he needs."

"Look. Lots of people have been wanting to see Usami-san, especially lately. You'll have to make an appointment." This was going nowhere.

"Please. Your entire company depends on the information I have!"

"I still can't let you walk to his office. Here's a card with his PA's phone number. If it's so important she can set up an appointment for you."

"Okay. Thanks." Of course. He could just call him. Except he couldn't because Usagi-san had the phone. What would happen in _Za Kan_? The brilliantly talented chef and sometimes spy would sneak past security. So that's what he'd have to do. He psyched himself up and started heading to the stairs when he realized the receptionist had already called security.

"Sir. I'm going to have to escort you out of the building."

Well, that never happened in _Za Kan_! And there was Usagi-san who was speaking to somebody on the other side of the lobby. He just needed to look this way and then he could get his attention.

He turned the corner trying to follow Usagi-san's movements from outside the building and was rewarded by almost smacking into a ladder. He looked up. A window cleaner? And he'd just made a beautiful soapy mess. He watched as the window cleaner reached for his squeegee.

"WAIT!" He screamed.

The man looked down at him, befuddled.

"I know this sounds strange, but I'm trying to get the attention of somebody in there. Can you leave the soap up? Please?"

"Why not. It's all yours. Just don't fall."

Misaki ran up. Shit. Usagi-san was about to go up some stairs.

He drew a large picture of a rabbit and started writing Usagi backwards then looked up. He was gone. Now what was he supposed to do? He was just contemplating trying to find a disguise when he heard a familiar voice from around the corner.

"Interesting artwork, Takahashi-kun. Trying to get my attention?"

"Usagi-san! Yes." He turned his attention to the window washer. "Uh…Thank you for your help, Onii-san, I'll just go down the ladder now."

"Good luck with uh… whatever you're doing. Thanks for the entertainment."

When he was safely down, he started walking with Usagi-san towards the entrance.

"Usagi-san, I remembered something when you told me about Sumi-sensei being Ojii-san. I have a message you're going to want to read. It's on my movie program. I know who it's from and I think it's about the memo!"

"Okay. Slow down. Don't say anything until we're in my office."

When they reached the office, Asahina-san was still there, looking just as unimpressed with Misaki as earlier, but perhaps calmer and he'd managed to smooth his suit and straighten his tie in the interim.

"Okay. Takahashi-kun. You need to be quick. I'll give you five minutes."

"When I first found the phone, I got a call from two people. I have the messages here."

"Seriously? _Za Kan_? And what were you doing with the phone?"

"Asahina-san, does it matter where he wrote the message? And about the phone, Takahashi-kun had found it and was keeping it safe for me. Takahashi-kun, continue." Misaki jolted a tiny bit in surprise as Usagi-san patted his shoulder and looked right into his eyes in that direct and unnerving manner. He found the program and unfolded it to the right page.

"Okay. Sorry about my handwriting. I tend to write messier when I'm in a hurry. Okay. '_Tama found a doctor. Excellent surgeon. Lock the Backdoor. Don't screw up.' _Okay. Two days letter I got the second phone call: '_Took care of it. Didn't leave a trace. Sayonara Ojii-san.'_" Misaki paused and took a breath. "The first message was from Shinoda-san. The second is this Tama person. It's got to be a pseudonym."

"Shinoda-san? Are you sure?"

"100%. At the party and then again at the restaurant and earlier now his voice sounded familiar. And now I know why. It's because I'd heard his voice before, but I wasn't sure where. It's definitely him."

"Interesting, but we'll need to hear the voicemail to be sure." For the first time Asahina-san was looking at Misaki with interest and now horror or disgust.

"So that's the problem. I answered the phone pretending to be the voicemail."

"What does that even mean? Usami-san?"

"Usami-san, Asahina-san, I acted like I was the voice-mail. You know: 'I'm sorry, but nobody can answer the phone right now. Please leave your name and number and somebody will get back to you.'"

"What I don't understand though is why they called Takada-san's phone."

"Could she be involved?" Asahina-san was studying the program and rubbing his chin.

"No way. Also, her family and Sumi's family are very close. That's why I gave her the job to begin with. I can't imagine her being involved in this, that and she wasn't the smartest either."

"Still. "locking the back-door… It sounds like…"

"Breaking into the company?" Misaki asked hopefully.

"No, Takahashi-kun. It sounds more like hacking into a computer system. Hackers get in through a 'back door,' figuratively speaking and part of their clean up afterward is closing this 'door' so nobody realizes they were there. It also fits in with not leaving a trace."

"Asahina-san, I never knew you were so knowledgeable in computer hacking. Also: Sayonara Ojii-san. That's obviously Sumi-sensei. Everybody knows that."

So, it wasn't Takada-san. Suddenly Misaki jumped up.

"How long did Takada-san work for you, Usami-san?"

"Around six months. Why?"

"I'm just thinking… could somebody have used the phone before her?"

"Asahina?"

"It's very possible. I'll make a call to IT."

"Good."

A few minutes later Asahina-san returned.

"Okamato Kondo."

"He had the phone?" Okamato Kondo. The one who had sued the company for wrongful dismissal? Usagi-san nodded and steepled his fingers in concentration.

"Okay. Everything's becoming clear. Okamato Kondo wants Usami Group and Sumi-sensei's in his way. He made a deal with Shinoda-san. He'd take the company in exchange for dropping his lawsuit, and of course Shinoda-san gets to be something big like CFO, a higher salary plus the increase in stock options of course.

"Okay. But we don't know who sent the second message."

"Whoever sent it is our hacker. Takahashi-kun, do you think you could remember his voice if you heard it again?"

Misaki thought for a moment and looked at the message again. "Yes. I'd recognize it. It was gravelly and sort of soggy sounding."

"Soggy sounding?" Asahina-san was looking dubious again.

"Okay. So, we just introduce Takahashi-kun…"

"To the entire company? This is ridiculous. Takahashi-san, and you shouldn't feel you have to do this."

"Takahashi-kun is somebody who spends his days trying to improve people's lives. I think he'll want to help."

"This isn't _his_ problem."

"Ah… Asahina-san, I owe Usagi-san for… an incident that happened recently… This is something I can easily help with. Of course, I'll do my part." Asahina-san rolled his eyes.

"Okay. Fine. But did you forget about the conference we're having right now, Usami-san and that everyone is either at the conference or heading there?" Usagi-san nodded and then smiled slightly at Misaki.

"Point taken. Interested in a trip to Chiba, Takahashi-kun?"

**Thank you, ****Saphireanime**, **for your kind and constructive review. Reviews really mean a lot to me. About physical contact from Akihiko to Misaki - f you recall nothing happens in the book until the conference. It becomes clear later that he already started falling for the main character by this point though. I'm trying to subtly impart that. Not sure if I'm successful there.**

**For each chapter I'm reviewing the original novel and writing notes, then I try to make it original and work with the JR characters and make sure it makes sense from both the JR side and the original novel. I'm following the plotline in the novel with a few divergences with sub-plots and details as necessary. **

**One plot point here is how the two main leads don't get together until the end of the book as people who've read the original know, which makes for a rather atypical fanfiction story. I'm planning on writing an epilogue for that reason. **

**I kept Usami Akihiko as a writer because to me that's a huge part of who he is. I've also made him more competent, as I've mentioned before and there's a key difference in this Akihiko's upbringing which will explain that. Kyo-san (who am I kidding here- we all know it's Ijuuin Kyo) who you'll find more about in next chapter.**

**Thank you for reading, everyone!**


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Misaki felt awkward as he waited on the platform at Tokyo station. He had assumed they'd take the shuttle bus, but the next one wouldn't be leaving for two hours and Usagi-san had said it would be quicker. Also, this way they wouldn't be on a bus full of Usagi-san's subordinates and other colleagues. This wasn't how he'd imagined his day going when he'd set out to meet Usagi-san for lunch. He checked his watch. He'd already texted Harada-san to reschedule his hair appointment and promised to pay the fee and was now waiting for the older man to come back from getting drinks.

He phoned Yoh, who was probably at the airport getting ready to leave for Seoul with a few of his best friends for a last minute 'freedom' trip. Misaki was supposed to be having his own small party tomorrow night.

"Misaki? I'm not getting such good service."

"Are you excited?" Misaki wasn't, but if this is what Yoh wanted, he could handle it.

"Well I'd rather you were here. Or that we were going on that Bashō tour we've talked about. Anything exciting happening?"

Misaki frowned. What should he tell him? That he was about to get on a train to Chiba with a man Yoh had never met to try and fix a situation that Yoh had nothing to do with? "Nothing exciting. I'm just doing errands. I won't be home until later. I think I'll go to a movie."

"Sounds good. Enjoy yourself. You never take enough time for yourself. Ah! We're boarding. Bye, my sweet honey!" Misaki frowned. Since when did Yoh call him 'my sweet honey' with that ridiculous high-pitched voice he usually saved for Kamijou-kyoju? He looked up and felt Usagi-san's gaze as he walked over and handed him a can of coffee. He thanked him politely and was grateful Usagi-san had gotten him one with milk.

Misaki felt an awkwardness he couldn't shake off... Maybe it was the expensive and over-sized Armani shirt he was borrowing from Usagi-san after he'd tried to take out the stain from the asparagus soup and failed. He'd tucked it in, but the sleeves were hanging on him, and it looked a bit strange matched with his chinos. He followed Usagi-san on the train to seats; the type with a table between them. He took a seat across from the older man and took off his shoulder bag. Did they look like a couple? Nobody would think that. They were two men after all. He was being ridiculous. They weren't doing anything wrong, and he was trying to help, like any friend would. Not that they were friends; more like acquaintances, or maybe colleagues, sort of, and it was fine, or at least it should be.

He opened his can of cold coffee and took a sip. Usagi-san looked tired as he gazed out the window. Misaki wondered if he'd be able to identify the mystery man from the second message. He'd only heard him once. What if he couldn't recognize him? What then? He took another sip.

"Everything okay, Takahashi-kun? I never got a chance to show you my confrontation techniques."

Oh yeah. With the flatulence guy. He'd completely forgotten.

"It's fine, Usagi-san. This is a lot more important."

"I disagree. You're just saying that because you're the type of person who puts others first and forgets about himself." Misaki didn't like where this was going. Usagi-san's phone beeped, and he frowned at it and put it away.

"You know, my first boyfriend had grown up in Canada most of his life. He moved to Tokyo for high school, which is where we met, while I was still drowning in my sorrows for a certain senpai of mine. He used to drive me nuts singing his favorite Canadian songs to me. All the time. I'd get revenge by changing the lyrics and pissing him off. Do you know English?"

"A little. I also had a Canadian boyfriend. That is, he was from here, before he moved to Vancouver and married somebody else."

"Sounds very familiar, only my ex lives in Toronto now. I don't get what's so amazing about the Great White North that we don't have in the Land of the Rising Sun."

"Maybe gay marriage?"

"Good point. Anyway, his favorite band of all time was something called _Rush_, and he used to play their songs over and over including this:" Misaki blinked, as the man started singing. "_You'll be the captain__And I'll draw the chart__Sailing into our destiny__Closer to the heart_."

"Uh… I'm not quite understanding you." And why wasn't he surprised Usagi-san wasn't quoting from something more like listenable like Utada Hikaru or SID?

"It's a song about everyone having a part to play in life. The way you talk about your in-laws… it's made me think of this song again."

Misaki didn't like where this was headed. He listened as the train stopped at another station and then went on its way again.

"Takahashi-kun." Misaki looked up and noticed gentle concerned eyes. "Have you ever wondered why you're so intimidated by your future in-laws? Is it their multiple university degrees or how brilliant they are? What do you think it is?"

"It's not just one thing, it's everything. It's how every time I've been at their house, they have this intellectual discourse that everybody else understand perfectly, but me. And they regularly go on television and publish books. They know so much more than I do, about not just their field but about everything. Don't tell me you're not the same way about Sumi-sensei, because I saw you with him. It's obvious how much you admire him."

"I do, and I owe a lot to him for many reasons; I spent at least half of my childhood in that man's house, so I'd say he's my mentor and definitely a father figure to me. The one thing I don't feel though is inferior. And I think it might be constructive if you figured out why you feel inferior with the Miyagis."

"I already explained to you. I _don't _feel inferior, _so _STOP SAYING THAT! I mean… uh… I didn't mean to yell." Misaki frowned and looked down at his fingers.

"Look. I'm sorry and I could be incorrect. We don't know each other that well, Takahashi-kun, I just want to help, but I'm being nosy. Just a moment." The man frowned as his phone rang and modulated his voice, which seemed so jarring after hearing his low soft voice. "Asahina, what's happening? We're on the train. We should be there in 30 minutes or so. Yes, don't worry, I will. Bye."

Misaki frowned. Usagi-san had only been acting out of concern, and Misaki's response was to lash out. Even worse, he kept replaying the conversation he'd overheard at the pre-wedding party where his in-laws were clear how they thought of him. And he hadn't eaten much of a real meal at lunch and was starting to feel headachy and nauseous. If only he'd never heard them arguing with Yoh. He'd be blissfully ignorant now. Okay, so he'd always suspected they didn't like him, but he'd never expected he'd be so right on the mark. The train stopped at another station.

Usagi-san had gotten everything right, Misaki admitted. How he knew so much when they barely knew each other, who knew. He gulped and looked up at the man in front of him.

"Usagi-san," Misaki mumbled. "You're right… maybe. I've tried so hard to get them to like me, and it's never going to happen. I'm not a brilliant academic and researcher like they are."

"So? They're smart, and that's great, but it's just one part of a person. And if you think about it, they're not so smart, because they've obviously haven't learned how to talk to people in an easily understandable manner.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, let's take your profession. You must speak to your colleagues about different patients with clinical language."

"Well, of course. It makes it a lot easier if you can summarize what's happening in a few words."

"But you aren't going to speak to your patients that way."

"Of course not. They wouldn't understand and it would be frustrating for them."

"Okay. Please think about what you just said to me. And yet the Miyagi's don't seem to know how to do that, otherwise they would have figured out how to include their future son-in-law in their conversations, and they also don't seem that socially aware either. In fact, they're probably oblivious. I hope they don't teach undergraduate classes in their universities."

"That's not really being fair."

"Is it? One of the cornerstones of teaching is reaching your students at their level. A competent teacher wouldn't have a problem being able to adapt what he's saying to fit his audience."

"Well since their mostly do research and teach graduate students, that's probably not a problem for them."

"Okay, fine. Let's say they are brilliant, and since you want to compare them to you let's do it. Would you say that during the years you've been working, you've been able to increase the quality of life or people and therefore, their happiness?

"Well, yeah, that's the goal. I always try and help our patients reach their goals and regain functionality but that's my job."

"Okay, so do you think they've done that? And do you think those people who you feel second rate to get a chance to do what you do daily? Think about it. Your patients end up happier than they did before they went to your clinic."

Well of course. That's what made the job so fulfilling; seeing the looks on the faces of people who, after therapy and a lot of work on their part, were able to do activities and jobs they thought they would never do again. There was nothing like that.

"I just think you should keep everything in perspective. Nobody's perfect or good at everything. And even if they were the most perfect people in the world, you're not marrying them; you're marrying their son."

It was odd hearing Usagi-san talk about Yoh and his parents. The two men lived in such different worlds. He reflected how Usagi-san had surprised him so much in the short time he knew him. He would never have known when he first met him that this cold gruff man could also be so gentle, and so… caring.

Usagi-san smiled, as if he was reading his mind. There really was something magical about that smile. It as a shame he didn't do it more often. It lit up his whole face. The man was good looking already, but that smile transformed handsome into gorgeous. The man had character too, the way he was handling a very challenging situation with Sumi-sensei with such loyalty. Kyo was one lucky guy to be engaged to Usagi-san, Misaki thought absently and then almost spewed out his coffee. What was he even thinking? Ah! He was just innocently wishing Kyo-san well. It's not like he was jealous. That would be ridiculous because he was engaged to somebody else and very happily engaged, and it was a good thing Usagi-san wasn't psychic, because then he'd be hearing all of this and maybe think -wrongly- that he liked him!

Usagi-san was looking at him in concern. "Everything alright? I'm not trying to make you feel bad."

"You're not, Usagi-san!" In the right circumstances the man could probably make him feel pretty good actually. No. He did not just think that. He needed to think of something boring or annoying. Like how Usagi-san had completely forgotten him when he was sitting in his office for seemingly forever. Yes. the man was a jerk! He looked up and saw purple eyes studying him with concern.

"You're not getting a fever, I hope? You look flushed. Shit. It's Asahina again." He picked up his phone and started talking briefly. Misaki tried to distract himself from the thoughts that were starting to frighten him and picked up his phone and checked for messages. Usagi-san finished his conversation and put his phone away.

"So, where do you think you'll shop for your next phone, Takahashi-kun? Perhaps in a dumpster?" This was better. The man was acting snarky again. He was probably trying to make Misaki feel better. And he had such good timing. Now he'd be able to stop having these surprisingly inappropriate thoughts.

"Dumpster diving for phones is really popular lately."

There was a notification and they both instinctively reached for the phone, which Misaki had placed in the middle of the table. He hadn't expected Usagi-san's fingers to be so cold. Not like he was thinking of how he'd feel like! He looked up and met the man's gaze. Misaki pushed the phone over to him and Usagi-san checked the notification.

"It's yours. Wedding related." Usagi-san pushed it over to him.

It was Takatsuki. Misaki quickly sent off a reply. _No, we don't need corsages. _Hadn't they taken care of that a week ago?

As soon as he put the phone down another notification came. Flash sale on models of the Great Wall of China. He pushed it over to Usagi-san. "Yours."

Usagi-san glanced it at it. "Delete." Usagi-san pushed it back in the middle. What a strange sort of game this was becoming. It was sort of like ping pong.

After a few more minutes of this, another message arrived. Misaki didn't recognize the number. He read it. Then read it again as if he could will the message to change. Poor Usagi-san. This was the _last_ thing he needed now. His expression must have been obvious. He knew how readable his face could be.

"What? If it's Asahina tell him to call my number directly. I'm not sure why it would be him, though. He just called me."

"It's… not from Asahina-san. It looks personal." Misaki looked at it again and frowned.

_hope this is the correct cell number. I needed to tell you. Your fiancé is cheating on you and you know the person he's_

It looked like whoever had sent it had accidentally sent before finishing it. The message came out clearly though, even if it made no sense. He knew Kyo-san was dramatic, but the guy had sounded so in love with Usagi-san, so what was going on? Who would even think of cheating on a guy like him? Usagi-san held out his hand.

"It can't be that bad. Let me have a look."

"I'm sorry. It's kind of shocking. I'm just so sorry, but it looks like Kyo-san's cheating on you."

The older man looked confused and took the phone. This was so horrible. What a way to find out. He waited for Usagi-san to look upset, but he just frowned and handed him back the phone.

"This message doesn't make any sense."

"I know! He's always talking about loving you, and then he goes and cheats on you? What's his problem?!"

"I don't think you're understanding me. This makes no sense, because not only am I not engaged, I'm single."

"Wait… you aren't getting married to Kyo-san?"

"I don't know where you got that impression. I'm not."

"But I don't understand. I thought you told me you were engaged?"

"I didn't, and I'm not sure why anyone would either."

"I'm trying to remember… Ah. I read a message from Takada-san telling somebody you were engaged."

"Ah. That explains it. I always instruct my PA to do that. It's stopped most people from discovering I'm not interested in women. All they know is I'm not available."

"But what about Kyo-san?"

"Kyo-san. We did date… for a long time, but that's all in the past. We broke up six months ago."

"Really? I'm wondering if Kyo-san got the memo. He sends you at least one email a day, and it sounds like he still thinks you're together." To the point of knowing Usagi-san's travel schedule and even asking for souvenirs!

"He knows. Trust me. This really isn't a story for now. It's… complicated."

"Well, we have time. Try me."

"I don't think it's a good idea."

"Maybe because you're still in love with the man?"

"Ridiculous. You really have no clue what you're talking about. If you knew- okay fine. I'll tell you. Kyo-san is a very famous author, a mangaka at Marukawa." Funny. Just like Misaki's favorite author of all time, Ijuuin Kyo-sensei. Maybe they knew each other? "We met at a Marukawa party at the Teito hotel. It was another joint part with Usami Group, like the last party I was unfortunate enough to attend."

"I really am sorry, Usagi-san!"

"It's fine. I'll survive. So, about Kyo-san. Have you ever just met somebody and had this immediate attraction? I wasn't expecting much though. I might be a bit elitist about the superiority of literature to manga, but he blew me away. He was intelligent and well-read in a lot of different subjects, and he was so charismatic; he just had this magnetism. He'd also read my novels and told me he thought I should write more. We left the party early and started dating. Those first six months were probably the happiest in my entire life, but I kept on wondering what the catch was, because I'm an expert at falling for people who either aren't available or appropriate for me. And just when I was beginning to think I'd finally met the right person, everything started to fall apart, and I spent the next two and a half years in hell."

"What happened?"

"His head editor called me one afternoon begging me to come to Marukawa to talk to Kyo. He must have thought I knew everything about him, because he didn't warn me what a wreck he'd be. For a whole week he hadn't contacted me, which was odd for him, but work was so busy, and I hadn't even had time to think much about why. When I got there, he was out of control- screaming and frothing at the mouth. He smelled - he must not have been showering. I had no clue what to do. I'd never dated anybody with issues like this. I managed to get him to calm down, but he had been so irrational. I'm a novelist and a businessman. I don't know much about manga at all, but one of the salesmen there told me that his manga consistently was the top selling serial in _Japun_\- that's the name of the magazine that runs his story, and he's won multiple awards. And yet he was convinced that nobody liked him, and his manga was shit."

#1 manga in Japun… Misaki blinked. That could only be one series. _Za Kan_. But that would mean Kyo-san was Ijuuin Kyo-sensei. That made no sense. He'd written so many fan letters to Ijuuin-sensei. How could the two men be one and the same? The he thought of the photo he'd just seen of Usagi-san and Kyo-san at his office. No wonder the man had looked so familiar. He'd seen a few photos over the years of his favorite mangaka. He was undeniably Ijuuin Kyo-sensei. Usagi-san was obviously reading his expression correctly. The man didn't have to read minds when everything was written on his face.

"Oh, crap. You know who I'm talking about, don't you? That phone ornament you had. That's Kyo's character from his manga."

"_Za Kan_."

"Right. _Za Kan_. You'd think I'd have remembered. Look. Takahashi-kun. He loves his fans. He even saves all his letters in binders so he can keep them and look at them again. I've seen him do it. You need to keep what I said to yourself, because this could hurt him, and I really don't want that. Shit."

"I would never say anything. That's sweet that he keeps letters. I've written to him. He really changed my life with his manga. I love him. I mean I loved his manga and I still do. This won't change anything."

"And you should. He's a brilliant man."

"You still love him."

"No. I Loved him. Past tense. I was so shocked and horrified when I saw him, but I managed to calm him down, but this would happen three or four times a year. When he was back to his normal self, he admitted he had bi-polar disorder. He goes from these unbelievable highs to dark lows, and that had been one of his lows. He was supposed to take medicine, but he would go through cycles where he'd become convinced the medicine was negatively affecting his work, despite evidence to the contrary.

"When I saw him for the first time looking so pathetic and helpless looking, I felt this stabbing feeling inside. I felt almost like it was happening to me, I just wanted to help him. I never stopped to consider that I was enabling him to continue his cycle. It was all ego. "_I _wasn't going to be like all the others who had abandoned him. _I_ was going to save him. It took me two and a half years to realize that the only person who could save Kyo, was Kyo, and he didn't-doesn't want to be saved.

"Six months ago, shortly after our anniversary I told him very clearly I couldn't be with him anymore. This isn't something you forget about. I have to live with this feeling of guilt, even if I know I did the right thing."

"I'm sorry. I just don't understand why he keeps emailing you."

"It turns out we'd had the longest relationship of anyone he'd dated before. Maybe that's why he can't move on. I was told to ignore him; that interacting with him would only make it worse.

"It's not my business, but it doesn't seem to be working."

"I've never even spoken about this. Maybe I said too much. It's not my fault he doesn't want to face reality."

"Can you explain to him just once more? The emails are so toxic sometimes and it's not good for either of you. If he continues you could always block him, assuming your IT department got their act together. But then again, you don't even bother replying to you own father, so I don't know why I think I can convince you-"

"Excuse me? My father? Now, you _really_ don't know what you're saying."

"Let's agree to disagree." If it was Misaki's father – if _his_ father was alive, he wouldn't bother not to answer his emails. Didn't Usagi-san know how lucky he was to have both his parents? If only he could see his mother and father just one more time…

"Okay, long story aside, I'm single, as in not dating anyone, and definitely _not_ engaged."

"Even if your ex thinks you are."

"What I'm trying to say is, I'm not engaged, but _you_ are."

There as another ping and Usagi-san pointed at the phone. The anonymous writer had sent a second text.

_hope this is the correct cell number. I needed to tell you. Your fiancé is cheating on you and you know the person he's with. I feel horrible telling you this when the wedding is so soon, Takahashi-san, but I had to tell you the truth. Your friend. _

_Takahashi-san… _but that meant Yoh was cheating on him, and that was… impossible. Yoh, who had told him he wasn't like that other professor guy, and always talked about how wonderful Misaki was for him. _No_. This couldn't be happening. He vaguely noticed Usagi-san pick up the phone and look at the message.

"_Your friend. _For a friend this writer doesn't come across so friendly."

Misaki tried to blink back tears. No no no no no no _no_. This couldn't be happening. He wiped his eyes.

"When is your wedding, Takahashi-kun?" Usagi-san's voice was soft and gentle again. Even more soft and gentle somehow.

"Four days from now."

"Do you know anybody who might want to hurt you?"

"No." Well, Kisa-san had been acting weirdly lately. But that had only been because his boyfriend had left for a couple of weeks. No. Kisa-san was a friend. He acted inappropriately sometimes, but he wouldn't have wanted to hurt him. But then again, he'd been so strange when Yoh had come to the office that last time… he'd been way too touchy. No, that was ridiculous. He'd met Kisa-san's boyfriend and seen them together. There was simply no way it was him.

Maybe it was Kamijou-kyoju? Maybe all that strange posturing had been Yoh's attempt to hide his hidden love for the other professor? That didn't seem likely though. Kamijou had always sounded like he couldn't stand Yoh's behavior. Or maybe that had all been so Misaki wouldn't get suspicious?

When had Yoh started cheating and with who and why? Was this why the man sometimes looked distant and sad? Because he was feeling guilty? Had he really betrayed him? He had to stop crying. Now. Usagi-san handed him a handkerchief, because disposable tissues weren't in keeping with being CEO.

"Takahashi-kun. I'm sorry this is happening. I would completely understand if you went back. I' can handle this some other way."

Misaki blew his nose and forced a smile on his face.

"It's fine, Usagi-san. We're almost there now. I like Sumi-sensei, and I want to help you stop these people from ruining his life."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! Yoh just left for Seoul and won't be back for a day, so I can't even talk to him if I wanted to." And right now, the last person he wanted to talk to was Yoh.

"Seoul? Interesting. Well, I appreciate this. Oh. Text back and write them -don't ask- _tell _them to provide you a name."

"Okay." Misaki sent the message before he could change his mind, trying to channel Usagi-san's curt messaging style in his writing.

_Thanks, but if you are my friend, I need you to give me a name. Please. _

He reviewed it, erased the word please, and sent it before he could change his mind.

And just in time. They had arrived and it was time to switch tracks and help Usagi-san save his mentor.

**I don't know what inspired this head canon of Usami Akihiko having a Japanese Canadian first boyfriend who inundated him classic Canadian songs, and Yes. I do find it amusing thinking of him singing Rush. **

**Meanwhile, Misaki is starting to have realize he has feelings for the tall CEO. (Yes. Shocking. It's not like this is an Usagi x Misaki story. Oh wait.) and we've finally gotten to the backstory with Kyo-san and why he's sending his toxic emails. The whole treatment of the original character, Willow, never sat well with me. Maybe the original character wasn't meant to have mental illness? Either way, I hope my portrayal does not offend anyone.**

**Also, it seemed very plausible Kyo's issues could be more serious than presented. In the manga it's mentioned that he has breakdowns a few times a year. The (sunk) ship between him and Usagi-san might seem a bit crack, but the two have an interesting tension when they're together in the manga, which I think could easily have become attraction if Misaki hadn't been in the picture. **

**Lastly, Miyagi Yoh has been a bad bad boy. I find that since I like Miyagi Yoh as a character, aside from him dating an underage guy, I'm being a lot nicer in my portrayal than Sophie Kinsella is to the original character. It's clear he's weak to relationship terrorists, though.**

**Next chapter Misaki and Kyo meet. **


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

The hotel for the conference was in a town near Chiba called Yachimata. It was on a lake and had a sprawling golf course. It just needed an onsen and it would be perfect. In fact, it might make a good wedding venue. Which he wasn't going to think about now.

He wondered how successful he'd be with their goal. Since they'd gotten to the train station it had been one disaster after another. It had taken 20 minutes just to find a cab and then there was the horrendous traffic, and on top of that the driver had gotten lost. Usagi-san hadn't been exactly thrilled. Was it a sign this whole scheme was doomed to failure?

Misaki stretched his arms and legs. Maybe he should have taken that offer to go back to Tokyo? Should he even believe that text message anyway? He had no clue who sent it and the sender hadn't responded when he'd asked for a name.

He might as well ask Yoh how he was doing. Usagi-san was busy anyway. What should he even say? _Hi, beloved fiancé WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU SLEEPING WITH? _Except he couldn't just send _that_. What if Yoh was innocent? After multiple efforts he ended with the simple but somewhat vague: _Hey. How's everything going?_

There was so much to be read between the lines. If you knew what to look for, which Yoh didn't of course.

What the message should have read was: _Hi. Have you been sleeping around? Please tell me I'm wrong. How's everything going? Are you busy cheating on me right now? And why? No, don't answer that! Just tell me I'm wrong! But I need to know the truth! Why did you tell me how perfect I was for you? I thought you loved me. Do you love me?_ He frowned into his phone.

"Takahashi-kun!" Usagi-san was motioning to him from across the lobby. He walked over. "This is Shizukuishi-san and Yanase-san. They both work for Asahina-san."

Shizukuishi-san looked at his watch and frowned. "Asahina-san is on the bus over now and should be here within the hour. Sumi-keicho is staying at a hotel in Yotsikaido, so he'll be near at hand and at the same time he won't be bothered by the press."

"That's ridiculous. He has no reason to be hidden away."

"He's not being hidden, but we can't exactly let him go back to Tokyo for him to be bombarded by the media. We have to be smart here." Usagi-san rolled his eyes. "We have to be careful, and tomorrow we'll reassess if he should come down or not."

"Okay, but I was speaking to Mino-san in Legal about an injunction. He said he'd take care of that."

Yanase-san let out a sigh. "I'm sorry, Usami-shacho, but we've gotten different orders from the board. We're not in a position to file an injunction right now." Misaki wondered what it meant to be CEO of Usami Industries if the board presumably of their parent company could just ignore him. And he'd thought Usagi-san held all the power. Obviously not.

They had been walking and arrived at an even larger lobby with Usami Group logos all over on multiple flat screens which had been mounted everywhere.

Up ahead was a large room with double doors, obviously meant for the largest presentations. The whole place wasn't so busy. Most of the attendees were probably in the hall. Misaki heard laughter emanating from beyond the doors.

"Well, everyone here seems to be in good spirits," Usagi-san said and pointed to a screen showing the speaker in the room as more laughter could be heard emanating from the room.

"Shiiba-san's speaking. He's doing a good job. Let's go to a conference room where we can speak more freely." Yanase-san led them to a small room nearby and closed the door. "Okay. Takahashi-kun, Usami-shacho's given us the basics about your… suspicion."

"Suspicion? I just know I got these messages which felt like it might mean something. Usag- Usami-shacho is the one who understands what's happening."

"I think there's definitely something in the messages. We all agreed the memo had to be planted by somebody else."

"The memo was definitely out of character for Sumi-kaicho."

"That's because he didn't write it! Somebody else wrote and made it appear like it was sent by Sumi-kaicho somehow. Somebody with tech skills. And all we need to do now is find out who it was, which is why Takahashi-kun has very generously lent us his time. And he's going to recognize the person who sent it."

"Okay. I don't mean to upset you, but you must understand how carefully and discreetly we need to play this. Like not randomly accusing anybody-"

"Yanase-san, that's not going to happen."

"Fine. So, what's your plan?"

"We're going to mingle amongst the crowd. I'll introduce Takahashi-kun as a potential candidate who I'm showing around."

"Wouldn't it make more sense to you say she's your PA? Misaki tried to remember the name of the man talking and failed. He was the guy who wasn't Yanase-san.

"Most People at Usami Industries know who my PA is so that won't work. I think this story works. What do you think, Takahashi-kun?"

"Ah, no problem!"

"Asahina-san said you prepared a complete list of male personnel, Yanase-san."

"Of course." Yanase-san handed it to Usagi-san. "I don't have to tell you to be discreet." He glanced over at Misaki as if to say, _I don't have to tell you, but keep that guy in line_. Well. It's not like they knew him, although maybe they should have trusted their CEO more, but it wasn't his job to tell him that.

They left the room and entered another large hall where people were starting to mingle. Shiba-san's speech must have finished. Misaki spotted a table with finger foods and tried not to salivate. The soup had been hours ago now and he hadn't eaten anything else that day besides some left over fish and rice in the morning.

"Takahashi-kun, we'll start in ten minutes. After you've gotten yourself something to eat. You look hungry."

"Was it so obvious?"

"A bit, and you only had soup for lunch and that was hours ago. Go and fill up a plate. I can wait."

"Thanks! Want anything?"

"No, I'm fine. Thank you." Misaki went to the closest table and filled a plate and tried to eat it quickly followed by a can of cold tea.

"Alright. I've been thinking and we should be as methodical as possible… if we went through the room in concentric circles that should do it. What do you think?"

"Sure. Sounds good." Misaki tried not to think of what would happen if, after he spoke to everyone, they still hadn't identified the speaker or if he couldn't recognize him? And since nobody else heard the voice, he was the only one who could help Usagi-san and Sumi-sensei.

Meanwhile, Usagi-san had put on what he'd come to recognize as his 'in public' smile: it was his CEO persona, all teeth and friendliness, and amazingly enough, nobody seemed to question why their usual surly CEO wasn't bringing out his dark aura. Then he remembered that the man was pretty good at putting on a public face when he wanted to.

Misaki just nodded and smiled and wondered if this was what the empress felt like or maybe the Queen of England? At least he didn't have to wave. Usagi-san discreetly crossed off names, as he introduced him to what started to seem like hordes of people. He also was pretty good at steering towards the men without it being obvious.

One helpful fact was just how different people sounded, and none of the voices sounded anything like the person on the voice, and how the memory seemed to get stronger. He could do this. He was just thinking maybe this wasn't such a ridiculous idea when Usagi-san mumbled in his ear low enough just for him to hear.

"Oh, fuck, not _him_."

"What?"

"I forgot to tell you that Ijuuin-sensei likes to follow me around a bit. Not everywhere but he's gone to our conferences before. I should have foreseen this. Oh crap, he's headed this way."

Misaki dared himself to look up. This was his favorite author of all time, in the flesh. Should it really be like this, with the man kind of giving him a similar look Usagi-san kept giving him the night of the Marukawa party? And he looked just like his photograph and so tall! He was about as tall Usagi-san with black hair. He was dressed in an expensive suit.

Usagi-san pretended to be surprised, keeping his friendly public persona intact.

"Ah, Ijuuin-sensei. What brings you here to our conference?"

"Akihiko-sama, what a coincidence. I'm researching my manga. It's interesting how we keep meeting up in the unlikeliest of places." Misaki sneaked a peek at Usagi-san, who managed to smile and glare at the mangaka simultaneously. _Unlikeliest of places_? How could the biggest conference of the year for Usami Group be an unlikely place to find Usagi-san? And yet the man sounded so very believable. The man was obviously putting on his own public face.

"Yes. Well, it would be wonderful if we could speak more, but unfortunately I'm very busy."

"I see. And who is this?" _Oh shit._ Misaki felt like crawling into a hole. His favorite author and they had to meet like this. The man must have thought he and Usagi-san were together or something. And the hidden meaning was just so obvious it was like he could read it, or maybe he'd just seen enough of Ijuuin-sensei's emails lately, so he felt like an expert? _WHO THE HELL IS THIS GUY AND WHAT THE FUCK IS HE TO YOU? ARE YOU TRYING TO PISS ME OFF? _ Misaki felt the waves of hostility and tried to remember it wasn't personal and the man didn't know him and just because his favorite author hated his guts it didn't have to mean anything. Who was he kidding_?_ This was horrifying. Devastating.

"This is Takahashi Misaki-san. He's an important candidate for Usami Industries."

"Ah. That's… wonderful. Good luck with that, Takahashi-kun." Misaki didn't know what was worse. Seeing his favorite author look like he'd like to smash him to a pulp or that strange creepy smile he was giving him.

"At any rate, I don't want to keep you from your… research, and we really have to be going." This was twenty types of awkward. Thankfully, Usagi-san led them away before Ijuuin-sensei could respond.

They met a huge group all from IT people but none of them were it to Usagi-san's disappointment. "Are you sure about the curly haired guy with glasses?"

"No. I'm sorry. It's definitely not any of them."

"It's fine. I was just hoping it might be somebody from IT. It would make the most sense."

"What about the people out there on the terrace."

"Good idea. We'll go there after we finish this room."

None of the next group looked promising, but somebody wrangled Usagi-san into a conversation. Misaki checked his phone. Great. Another message from Ijuuin-sensei.

_Akihko,_

_Seriously? Since when did you start liking them young and stupid? I'm disappointed in you. - Kyo._

Misaki blinked. Another email came in. This guy typed fast!

_You could have at least found somebody with better dress sense and who knew how to take care of himself. His trousers are beyond short on him, and his hair is frizzy and poufy. Clearly nobody's never introduced him to hair gel before._

Misaki fumed. Like this man could talk. His hair looked like it had weird spider legs in it. He rapidly typed a response.

_I happen to think he's the epitome of gorgeousness, not to mention fashionable, so fuck off. - Usami_

Then deleted it. Of course. He'd had no temptation to send it at all. Well, maybe just a little.

Another email? Was this part of his 'research'?

_Okay. You're obviously hoping I'll get upset and jealous with this new boy toy of yours, but next time find somebody worthy of my jealousy._

_Because you look like a shouta-con with this fifteen-year-old slut who clearly doesn't know how to dress appropriately and whose hair looks like a FREAKING POODLE. I guess I'll try to connect with you when you GROW UP._

_-Kyo_

Great. Misaki's favorite author of all time referred to him as a 'boy toy', assumed he was in high school and thought he dressed horribly, and he knew he had issues with poufy hair, but his hair wasn't frizzy and he didn't exactly realize he'd be on a train to Chiba when he was getting dressed and that mangaka jerk just wished he wore anything as cool as green and white star socks! Oh great. The man was emailing again. Misaki checked his phone.

_Nobody's listening, Kyo so you can stop now._

_Usagi-san. _And he was sticking up for him. In his own brief manner. In fact, that had been rather long for the man. Usagi-san had moved on to talking with more people as if he'd never sent anything. Misaki expected a barrage of angry emails, but somehow that short missive had quieted the man.

"Takahashi-kun, I have more people to introduce you to." _Oh. Right._

"I'm ready." Misaki felt he was getting his battle face on, kind of like in _Za Kan_ when they had to face the main antagonist of the sixteenth volume, _The Cursed Curry of Hokkaido_. Then he remembered the same brilliant man who wrote that just insulted him. Well who cared? The man was a brilliant writer and he'd still like his stuff, and Misaki even felt sorry for him. And he really needed to focus. _Battle face: on!_

They finished up circulating through the room, and Usagi-san's list was mostly crossed out. It seemed like Misaki had heard every male who worked at the entire Usami Group. They left the room and headed down a hallway.

"I'm so sorry, Usagi-san."

"It's fine. You've been amazing. I'm sorry about Ijuuin-sensei. Don't take it personally. It's just because you're with me."

"It's fine. _I'm _fine."

They headed to the bar. He'd become so fuzzy with all the names. Fujishima-san Harada-san, and Kirishima-san (maybe he was related to his boss?)

Twenty minutes later they were right where they started. Nowhere.

"Shit. This was a crappy idea. I'm sorry I wasted your time, Takahashi-kun."

"You didn't waste my time. It was worth the try."

They looked up as a lady with short black hair and dark brown eyes walked towards a group of people near them long with a videographer. They appeared to be interviewing conference goers. Usagi-san moved over to her.

"Saeki-san. Interesting idea. What's going on?" The woman jumped a bit. Well the CEO probably didn't talk to her that often, but quickly brightened up again. She seemed upbeat and peppy while maintaining a polite demeanor, which made sense. That's the type of person you wanted for this type of assignment.

"Usami-shacho! It's nothing big. We're just filming all the guests. We're planning to show it at the banquet tomorrow."

Only Misaki didn't work at Usami Industries or Usami anything really.

"So, sir," she faced Misaki. "I don't recognize you. Are you with Usami Construction?"

"Takahashi-kun is with me. He's my guest."

"Oh! But that's perfect. We'll just do a question and answer. Doesn't that sound good, Haitani-san? Haitani-san is an intern. He's a graduate student at Mitsuhashi, Usami-shacho. So Haitani-san we should get a nice closeup of our special guest.

"Uh... Hi. I'm…" What was he supposed to say? _I'm just some guy here who has nothing to do with your company_?"

"So, Takahashi-kun, how are you enjoying the conference?" Misaki tried to keep his face neutral while inside all he could think was _It's him! _It was weirdly high-pitched. There was no doubt. He heard the man's voice in his head _Took care of it. _Shit! This Haitani-san really was Tama!

"Who was your favorite speaker? I'm partial to Shiiba-san." _Didn't leave a trace. _

"He didn't hear any of them." Usagi-san spoke looking at Misaki rather oddly. If only they could suddenly become psychic for just a few moments. _It's him, Usagi-san! _he yelled in his head._ It's Tama. Haitani-san is Tama_!"

"So, since we're in front of a bar, what's your favorite drink?" _Sayonara Ojii-san_

"Uh…Ah…"

"Saeki-san, I think Takahashi-kun might be a bit tired. Can we cut it short?" Usagi-san was leading him away gently.

"No! I can answer the question! Lemon sour! Yes. I Love lemon sours!"

"It's fine! Takahashi-kun did great. Thanks for participating!" Saeki-san smiled, and she and Haitani-san left to find other conference goers. Usagi-san looked at Misaki with a perplexed but sympathetic expression.

"It's okay. Takahashi-kun. You're probably overwhelmed from all the people. Not sure why they're even doing this. Maybe they think it'll build morale. That's something you'd approve of, am I right?"

"Wait… I need to tell you-"

"Like that initiative a certain brown-haired physical therapist thought of." The man smirked, completely oblivious that Misaki needed to talk _right now_!

"Just give me a minute, Usagi-san!"

"And actually, after the fact a lot of that was quite helpful, even if it was done in your signature meddling way." Since when did this man talk SO MUCH?"

"CAN YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR A MOMENT?" It would have been really amusing the way Usagi-san's beautiful eyes had bugged out like he was in an anime, if Misaki hadn't been so busy freaking out. And now way too many people had turned to stare at him. He forgot how loud his voice could get. "Please, Usagi-san! I need to tell you something important!" He motioned for the man to bend over so he could reach his ear better. Seriously. Why was everyone at Usami Group so tall? "I found him. The guy with the video camera. That's Tama!"

**Okay. So finally, Ijuuin Kyo met Misaki. Poor Misaki who really doesn't deserve the hate, and yes, I think the way Nakimura-sensei draws Ijuuin's hair makes it kind of look like part of his hair has legs or fingers or something. Please tell me I'm not alone here. And of course, Haitani Shin is the mystery man, Tama **

**So, is Miyagi Yoh cheating on Misaki? And if so, with whom? I mean it's just **_**so**_** hard to figure out, right? Find out next chapter. **


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Misaki checked his phone for the time. Twenty minutes and nothing had happened aside from a couple of phone calls Usagi-san had made. One long one with Sumi-sensei in private, and then another to Shizukuishi-san, and with Usagi-san pacing all over the place, Misaki hadn't been able to hear much of the conversation aside from "forget company policy for a moment… why isn't Asahina here yet?" The tension seemed to get more intense by the minute. It didn't make sense. They'd found the man. Shouldn't they have found something on the guy? Usagi-san finished the call with a very loud "I thought you were on our side. What the fuck?" He looked like he wanted to throw his phone across the room. Instead he put it back in his pocket and sat down on an ornately decorated bench. Carefully he sat down next to him.

"Ah… Usagi-san, just wondering what the plan was now and if I could help, maybe?" The older man sighed in response.

"Thanks, Takahashi-kun. I don't think there's anything you can do, though. IT's been searching Haitani's email, but he almost certainly used a private account; he probably didn't use our systems at all."

"That doesn't sound good. What can you do?"

"The problem is time. We just don't have time to talk to the legal department to even begin to try and get a court order to search Haitani's computers, phone or whatever company is hosting his email. The board has decided to make it an Usami Group matter, and they're keeping me out of the decision making. Only they told me it's because I'm too close to be impartial. They aren't even giving him a chance."

"What would you do if you were making the decisions?"

"You really want to know?"

"Let me guess. You'd stage a robbery where any phones or computers were taken then Usami Group would happen to purchase it as part of a bulk sale and just 'coincidentally' get Haitani's computers, hack into them and find the evidence and voila!"

"Not quite. I'd get the family's ninjas to take care of business with Haitani and then we'd take his equipment, find the evidence and clear Sumi-sensei. Much simpler." Misaki decided not to ask what taking care of business with Haitani meant. Usagi-san must have read his expression though.

"I didn't mean kill him. They would just keep him occupied in a secure location while the evidence was secured."

"How is Sumi-sensei doing?"

"He says he's fine, but I know him long enough to read between the lines. He's not doing well at all. You try acting normally while your reputation is being destroyed."

"Sounds like you've seen better, yourself." Misaki scooted over to the older man and put a hand on his shoulder, hopefully in a reassuring yet not too intrusive way, and was rewarded with a sad smile.

"I'm just feeling helpless right now. I don't know where I'd even be if it weren't for Sumi-sensei. Until I was ten, I lived in England, which hadn't been so bad, but then we moved here, and it was a huge culture shock and… my parents' idea of parenting was leaving me alone. Sumi-sensei - I'm not sure how he did it, maybe it was his wife's idea? - had me come over a lot, and between him and his wife I learned how to be a functional member of society. I learned how to make myself a basic meal, how to clean up after myself and take care of my own bills, and how to interact with people. All the things you don't learn in school, but my parents never taught me.

"If nobody challenges this libel - If I don't do anything, it will ruin his reputation- it will ruin _him_, because his own screwed up board couldn't get their heads out of their asses, even though there wouldn't even _be_ a board if it wasn't for him." _Wow_. Misaki felt a wave of empathy and love. Of the platonic type of course. "Let's go back. Asahina-san should be here soon if he isn't here already."

They walked through some sort of garden which should have been beautiful. If only he could do something to help. Absentmindedly he heard the notification and checked his phone. Usagi-Chichi had responded to the email. He must have gasped without realizing because Usagi-san was looking at him weirdly. He had to tell him the truth now.

"Ah… Usagi-san. We have a slight problem."

_Nii-chan, I'm sorry that I will never see you again. You were the best brother! I bequeath my condo and all my other possessions to you and your family. My Za*Kan collectibles should be kept safe until Mahiro gets old enough to appreciate them. _

"A slight problem? I think my problems are a little bigger than you seem to realize."

"No! Uh... it's something else."

"Okay. Out. With it."

"Promise you won't get upset."

"Which means there's a reason for me to get upset? Just tell me. It can't be worse than Hasegawa."

"It's about your father."

Usagi-san looked shocked for a moment and then he raised an eyebrow.

"He emailed a few times, and yes I shouldn't have looked at them, but he just seemed so lonely, and you didn't respond, so I told him you'd be here." How was Misaki to know a huge scandal would erupt at Usami Group?

"What? Oh. _Him_. Takahashi… I don't have time for this now." 'Oh. Him'? That's how he responded to his father trying to get ahold of him? How could somebody who seemed so caring at so insensitive?

"You realize without him you wouldn't even be here? I know this is a horrible time, and it sounds like he was a bit neglectful, but he's still your father."

"Takahashi-kun. You're getting the wrong idea here."

"It's you who has the wrong idea!" _How dare he tell me I'm getting something wrong when he won't spend even a few minutes with his own father? _"And the worst part is you're going to miss out on something important, and when it's too late you'll regret it!"

"Okay, okay, Takahashi-kun. I understand where you're coming from, but this isn't what you think it is. And you need to calm down."

"Well maybe you're being _too _calm! You're like one of those statues made of stone. No wonder you don't understand anything about emotions!" He was losing it, and yet he couldn't stop himself. He imagined a marble Usagi-san statue, kind of like those Italian artists did, all cold and calm and naked, no wait, not naked, with an old-fashioned suit on. Yes. That's better.

"I'm not quite following you, but unfortunately my current problem has to come first." He picked up his phone. "Asahina, I see you finally arrived. Yes. I'm heading there now."

"I know this is a major crisis, and I know Sumi-sensei feels like a father to you, but what about your father, who's old and alone and just wants to see you for a few minutes? You don't even know how lucky you are, Usami-san." Misaki rubbed a few tears away and sighed. This made it twice that he was crying in front of this man.

"Ah, I see I'm back to being Usami-san again." He sighed. "Takahashi - _Misaki._ Please let me explain what's going on. You're misunderstanding everything."

"Am I? My parents died eighteen years ago, and I'd do anything to see them just one more time. _Anything_. So yes, it upsets me." Misaki took the handkerchief Usagi-san offered him, again. He really had to stop crying.

"You're right. Family is important. I believe that. But… my family is more complicated than yours… more importantly the person you emailed isn't my father."

"What? But he called himself Chichi."

"Yes. And I see now how you made that mistake, but he's not my father. His name is Chida Chiaki, and he was a friend of a friend from university. At some point he thought it would be hilarious if he shortened to Chichi, and he still signs his emails to me that way."

"Oh."

"And I did read the email he sent but chose to ignore it."

Now that he thought about it, the emails this Chida-san had sent were vague enough it could have been from anyone. It was Misaki who had read more into them.

"Ah. So, it's a good idea to stay in contact with old friends, right?"

"Not friends of friends. Especially not in his case. Trust me, you do not want to be subjected to his company for even a minute."

"Ah… so you don't stay in touch?"

"I see him once a year, and every year I regret it. We usually meet an izakaya, which is the only highlight. He's always starting a new business venture that he wants me to invest in. It's always the same thing. They're guaranteed money makers, and yet somehow, they all end up failing, which is why I've never invested. He ends up disappearing until it's been about a year later when he decides it's safe to contact me again to invest in another winner."

"Ah, so you probably won't like to hear that he's waiting for you in the bar."

Misaki might have mischaracterized the man when he'd said he was like a statue, because statues couldn't show emotion and so clearly too: Exasperation. Rage. Confusion. Rage again.

"Yeah. I know. I messed up." _Again_, he kept unsaid, and was saved by a frazzled Asahina-san who was trying to hold on to what looked like four file folders plus a laptop while talking on his phone.

"Shizukuishi-san, I found Usami-shacho. I'll call you in a few minutes." He hung up and looked a bit guilty at Usagi-san. "I'm sorry, but we can't change the statement."

"_Excuse me?" _Misaki jumped at the noise. "You can't be serious!"

"We have no evidence against Haitani-san, and we've run out of time. I know it's upsetting, but our hands are tied."

Misaki looked from Asahina-san to Usagi-san, as they stood glaring at each other, and wished he could disappear into the wall. Usagi-san had been right. Confrontation like this was a nightmare which he actively tried to avoid.

"Asahina, this is ridiculous, and you know it. We know it's him!"

"That's not true. Usami Group needs to make that statement now or we are screwed, and just in case you forgot, that includes Usami Industries."

"We need just a little more time. We'll find Haitani and talk to him."

"When we have nothing to prove anything? He's not going to say anything."

"So, you're fine with ruining Sumi-sensei's life? You're okay with that?"

"Of course not, but we have to think of the company now. We've run out of time."

"I'm going to call IT."

"Fine. We need to find somewhere more private for this."

Misaki watched as the two men started walking so fast past the banquet hall which led right to the bar and - where Chida Chiaki was waiting! If only he could reach them before Chida-san saw them.

"Hellooooo, Akihiko-_sama_! You got my email I see!"

A man not much taller than Misaki, with curly brown hair rushed up to meet them. He was wearing a purple and orange polka dot infested suit. Now it was one thing to have that on socks, and it would look good too, but an entire suit? The man held a glass up. It probably wasn't his first drink either. "It's been so long!" The man was either completely oblivious that Usagi-san wasn't happy to meet him or just pretended to be.

"Who is this guy?" Asahina-san asked, looking perplexed and annoyed.

"It's hard to explain. I went to university with him."

"And I know all about the real Usami Akihiko! I'll share it for the low price of 5,000 yen! Just kidding. 7500!" Oh no. This was horrible… no wonder Usagi-san had ignored the man.

"Usami-shocho, we really need to leave."

Chida-san gave a sad puppy look, only his sad puppy look wasn't cute and sexy, like Misaki's it was kind of gross and pathetic. "But I just got here!"

"Chida-san, I'm sorry but something came up and my schedule changed. We'll have to meet another time. Sorry."

"But I took the train here purposely to see you. What should I do now? Sit here alone?" And why not? The man had been doing perfectly well on his own so far. Still. This was all Misaki's fault, and he'd fix it.

"I'd love to have a drink and learn about your university days with Usami-san!" Misaki smiled brightly. "I'm Takahashi-Misaki. It's nice to meet you." Misaki bowed and looked over to Usagi-san. "You can leave. It's alright."

"Fine. Takahashi-kun, tell the bartender you're with Usami Group. We'll take care of your bill." He hurried off and Misaki smiled brightly as they headed to a table.

"That's strange. In his email he sounded so excited to see me." _Because I wrote it!_ Misaki thought.

"An unforeseen crisis came up."

"So, who are you? His Personal assistant?"

"It's a bit complicated. I'm helping him, but I don't work for the company."

"Ah. You mean it's off the books. Well, I won't tell if you won't." He winked and Misaki realized why Usagi-san tried to avoid the man.

"So, can I get you another drink?"

"I'd like a scotch single malt. Might as well since Usami Group's paying."

Misaki ordered the scotch and a glass of shōchū for himself. He finally learned his lesson with this Chichi guy. Never respond to somebody else's emails! He wondered when he could leave without being too impolite.

"I'm a physical therapist. What business are you in" He smiled brightly and took a sip.

"I've recently become interested in anime merchandising. I'm selling frisbees with a popular character on it. I can show you one! It's a great investment!" That's when Misaki noticed a huge orange duffle bag at his feet. The man dragged out a scuffed up yellow frisbee which had a very fuzzy picture of… something that looked vaguely like somebody's face with what looked like pink hair.

"Do you recognize him? It's Natsu from _Fairy Tail_!" Misaki decided not to say that it looked like Natsu from _Fairy Tail_ if he was drawn by an abstract expressionist. He picked up the object and then put it down. The materials felt cheap. Was it even a functional frisbee?

"So how many of those do you have?"

The older man ignored the question. "Kids are going to love these; selling them will be a breeze and your profit margin will be huge!" Wait a minute, Misaki thought. Did Chida-san just say _your _profit margin? Meanwhile the man continued. How had their conversation turned into a sales pitch? "What's great about this opportunity is how easy you'll be able to fit it into the rest of your schedule. Here." Chida-san took out a purple plastic folder and a permanent marker. He wrote something down and then handed it to Misaki. "This will explain everything."

Misaki blinked. On the folder were the words _Fairy Tail Merchandise Franchise Contract_ in huge orange letters and on the bottom, was his name.

"Is that the right kanji?" Misaki blinked more. The man really thought Misaki was going to start selling his faulty merchandise for him?

"I'm thinking you'll start small... Let's say 75 pieces. You look like a personable guy. I bet you'll unload that in a day… two days maximum. Especially when you include this Gray Fullbuster puppet." Chida held out a felt puppet which was falling apart and tried to put it on Misaki's hand, and Misaki wasn't a _Fairy Tail_ fan, but did Gray Fullbuster have teal hair?

"Wait!" Misaki flung the puppet off his hand. "I'm not selling this."

"But the profit margins are huge!"

"I'm not interested! Thank you but no thank you!" He grabbed the permanent marker and put multiple lines through his name.

"Okay, you don't have to get upset. I just thought I'd help you." Didn't the man mean help himself?

"How many frisbees and puppets are you trying to get rid of?"

"Not much… just 15,000 pieces. Each." What type of person gets stuck with 30,000 pieces of faulty merchandise? Misaki decided not to ask how much he'd spent on this venture.

"You could ask Usami-san. Maybe he knows somebody who might take them off you?" _Or not_. Not even someone as brilliant as Usagi-san would be able to shift trash like that.

" I wonder if he still blames me for setting fire to his house."

"He hasn't really talked to me about that."

"Well, it was only in the servant's wing. Stupid faulty barbecue."

"Ah. Were you both in the business department at university?

"Yes. It might be hard to believe but I got in with a massive scholarship."

"What was Usami-san like back then?"

"Brilliant. And wealthy. He used to grill me on all sorts of crap just because I was a commoner. And yet he completed two novels while he was getting his degree. He kind of had a bit of a breakdown the last year, but nobody could blame him under the circumstances."

"What circumstances?"

"When his father died out of nowhere." Misaki put down his glass.

"Wait. Usami-san's father died when he was still in university?"

"Sorry, I thought you knew. He had a massive heart attack in a board meeting. He took it badly, well, anyone would."

Misaki sat there frozen. He'd been so… cruel to him when Usagi-san had mentioned his 'friend' he had who lost his father. _I am close with somebody who lost his father. He was older than you when it happened, but it wasn't something he could bounce back from. He still has a hard time with it. He said nobody understood him. _And Misaki had practically yelled at Usagi-san then. And he'd been talking about himself the whole time. Why had he done that?

"Takahashi-kun?" Chida was moving his hand back and forth trying to get his attention. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes. The trip was a bit tiring. I thought Usami-san had a friend who lost his father. I didn't' realize it was him. I must have gotten confused when he told me. Can I get you another drink?"

"It's fine. And he probably purposely said that it was a friend. He's private like that. In college he only spoke to one or two people."

"Like you?"

"No. I just a friend of a friend of Kamijou Hiroki. That's who he talked to mostly. He's a professor now at Mitsuhashi. Know of him?" That made sense. Usagi-san had said he was friends with the demon professor. He tried to picture a younger Usagi-san being friends with a younger and less scary Kamijou and failed.

"I've met him a few times. He shares an office with my fiancé."

"Interesting." The one thing his conversation with Chida-s an revealed was just how little he knew about Usami Akihiko. There was so much about him he'd just assumed. If Usagi-san was a jigsaw, Misaki had only reached the frame. And who knows what kind of confused impression Usagi-san had of Misaki. He imagined himself trapped in a jigsaw and Usagi-san peering in and started to laugh.

"Oh. Excuse me."

"I don't mind. Enjoy yourself."

Misaki's phone beeped. How had he missed a call from Yoh? Suddenly his mind shifted. He went to voice mail and listened to the message.

"Meee-sah-keee!" Great. The guy was obviously drunk. There was loud dance music in the background. "Can you do me a favor and tell Ka-meeee-joh I'm away. I sent him a message before he left but he never responded. I emailed you his number."

How strange. He'd just been talking about the scary professor. Misaki played it again, trying to listen for clues of infidelity, but Yoh just sounded happy and drunk.

He noticed as groups of people started to head to the main ballroom and checked the time. In twenty minutes Usami Group's statement would be read on the NHK late night news. He wondered what Usagi-san and Asahina-san were doing. If only he could help somehow…

"How interesting!" Misaki jumped and then grimaced. He'd had enough of people just showing up out of nowhere. And oh great, It was Ijuuin-sensei! He was glaring at Misaki. If only the man knew what a dedicated fan Misaki was he wouldn't be glaring like that. He'd written so many times to him over the years. Awhile back he'd even won an exclusive signature from the mangaka. And here he was hating him just because of a misunderstanding. It was so unfair! It was really starting to get to him how the man could sound so polite… so civilized and yet scare the shit out of him at the same time.

"Hello, again. I'm going to ask you some questions, and you're going to answer them."

"Hi."

"Alright. Who are you, exactly?"

"Takahashi Misaki. Sensei, have you meet Usami-san's friend Chida-san?" That managed to distract the mangaka, who turned to Chida-san with a bright smile.

"Ah, Chida-san. I'm sure Usami-san must have mentioned me. I'm Ijuuin Kyo, his partner."

"I don't think so. No, sorry." _Ouch. Wrong Answer._

"Are you sure? Ijuuin Kyo? I'm a mangaka. Usami-san and I are together."

"Doesn't look like it now." This man obviously wasn't good at reading the atmosphere and didn't realize now was not the time for making jokes.

"I don't understand how you know _him_," he pointed derisively at Misaki, "but not me."

"I just figured Takahashi-kun was his special _friend_." He winked at Misaki and nudged at him as he said friend. Misaki was starting to get annoyed as he watched his favorite mangaka looked infuriated.

"And why not? I don't see why he couldn't be with me."

"He's cheating on me. I should have foreseen this. Now what do we do?" Ijuuin-sense was mainly talking to himself. Misaki bit his lip. This was so awkward. And it wouldn't be fair to mislead him either.

"Sensei, I just said I don't see why he could be with me, but I didn't say I'm his boyfriend."

"I just don't get this. It's like you came out of nowhere." he raises his eyes melodramatically, like this was all taking place on stage, and not in a small hotel bar in Chida.

"It's a bit hard to explain." The mangaka stared at him and pointed to his shirt. "That's… that's Akihiko's… that's Akihiko's shirt! I'd recognize that anywhere. Why are you wearing Akihiko's shirt?"

The man kept pointing and MIsaki finally lost it. Jumping up he pointed back at the mangaka and yelled, "You should MIND YOUR OWN BUSINESS!" Oh man. Had he really just jabbed his favorite mangaka in the ribs?

As he was pondering where to hide, Asahina-san came running up, and Ijuuin-sensei tried to get his attention.

"Asahina-san. Just the man I was hoping to see. Have you seen Usami-shocho?"

Asahina-san ignored him or maybe just didn't see him.

"Asahina-san, hello?"

"Sorry, Sensei, I don't know, and I need to speak to Takahashi-san, so excuse me."

"What do you want with _him_?" Misaki decided to ignore that. He felt sorry for the man, and he clearly thought he was still in a relationship with Usagi-san. Misaki wasn't sure what he'd do if he'd met the person Yoh had slept with -assuming he wasn't innocent!. Maybe he'd react the same?

Asahina-san led him away from the bar.

"Takahashi-kun, it's a little delicate, but I haven't been able to contact Usami-shocho. Have you seen him?"

"Not since he left with you earlier. Is everything okay?"

"Can you check if he texted you?"

"Sure." Misaki checked his phone. "No. He didn't send anything." He lowered his voice. "What happened?"

"It's… private… I really can't share."

"I won't say anything. I haven't told anyone about any of this and I won't."

"Okay. let's just say things didn't go Usami-shocho's way." _Poor guy._

"What happened then?"

"He ran out, extremely angry. I was hoping he'd look for you."

"What happens with Sumi-sensei?"

"Sorry. I need to look for Shizukuishi-san and Yanase-san. Contact me if you hear anything from him, please." Asahina-san ran off looking frazzled and nervous.

A loud voice came from the intercom. "All employees of Usami Group including all related Usami companies please head to the main hall now for an important announcement."

Misaki went back to the table where Chida-san still sat with a slightly befuddled Ijuuin-sensei.

"Bye, Chida-san. Good luck with everything."

"Alright. Tell Usami-san about my idea about bringing back floppy disks. It's a guaranteed winner." Misaki smiled and took his business card. Unfortunately, Ijuuin-sensei hadn't gotten the clue that it was time to go and started walking alongside him as he headed to the ballroom.

"Tell me your story. From the beginning. How you met and so on."

"Didn't you hear the announcement?"

"Neither of us work at that company, so it doesn't apply to us."

"I have a feeling it's going to be important."

'And you're in on what it's about."

"Well… yes, actually. Pardon me. I'm going to get another shōchū." Without waiting for a response, he walked quickly to the bar, purchased his drink and headed to the banquet hall.

**Sorry, fans of Usami Fuyuhiko for killing him off. I introduced Usami Natsuko in an early chapter, completely forgetting that in the book Akihiko's character had lost his mother. **

**So, I had to kill Akihiko's father to fit the plot. The only main difference here are Sumi-sensei's large influence in his life and his father being dead. That's why he's a lot more competent than he is in canon. Otherwise it's the same as the manga/anime.**

**And I'm bad with honorifics, but I'm trying. Apologies for the mistakes I inevitably made. **


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

Misaki entered the ballroom. He could feel the nervous energy in the room as Asahina spoke to the large crowd. "…the statement has been released at present."

"And is Sumi-kaicho going to be here?" somebody called out from the audience.

"Sumi-kaicho is nearby in Yotsikaido. We'll keep everyone informed about any updates about the conference."

Misaki noticed Shinoda-san with his hand raised and a rather overdone look of horror on his face, as if he hadn't been embroiled in the mess in the first place. Asahina noticed, and didn't look so thrilled either, but called him.

"Shinoda-san?"

"Asahina-san, good job. It must have been challenging today, and I would like to express my appreciation with your professionalism. You're a true asset to the company, despite what Sumi-kaicho might have said or not." Did the man realize how simpering he sounded? What a lousy double-crossing bastard. He was obviously not alone in that thought as another person lifted their hand to speak.

"Shiiba-san." Had Asahina smiled a bit when he called on the man?

"Thank you, Asahina-san. You've done an amazing job, but there's something we're forgetting here and that is Sumi-kaicho did not write that memo. I read the original memo and there's no comparison. It's a completely different-"

"I'm sorry, but I need to cut in. The news broadcast is about to begin. Can I have the lights please?"

Most of the lights were turned off and on a large screen the NHK news started. Misaki felt his adrenaline rushing, which was odd, seeing it wasn't his company as they listened to the news: Major floods in Kyoshu. Whaling reintroduced amidst protests.

Misaki took out his phone and texted Usagi-san.

_Hi. In the huge hall watching the news broadcast along with everyone who works at Usami corporations but you. _

Where _was _he? He didn't seem the type of person who would hide when things got bad.

Finally, the announcers got to the news about the memo.

"In business news, Sumi Ryouichi, the CEO of Usami Group, one of the largest corporations in Japan was implicated in a possible bribery scheme. In a memo which NHK obtained exclusively only hours ago Sumi-kaicho seems to encourage a bribery scheme involving the head of Japan Petroleum, implying that these types of practices were commonplace at Usami Group."

Misaki looked around. Asahina looked upset but calm, as opposed to everyone around him who looked shocked. Well, he'd known about for hours.

"Since receiving the memo we've since been in contact with a high-level staff member at Usami Industries, a branch of Usami Group, that Sumi-kaicho might not have written the memo after all. The question remains; Who is Sumi-kaicho? Is he a criminal or a victim of an even more insidious scheme intended to ruin his reputation and career?"

Asahina started swearing and yelling in surprise.

Maybe Usagi-san had found evidence? Misaki's phone beeped and he turned it on to see a text from Usagi-san.

_How's Asahina-san doing?_

_He's livid. He looks like he's out for vengeance! _

"Usami Group has been a leader for decades in multiple areas including computing, engineering and pharmaceuticals." As the announcer talked there as shown a few pictures of Usami Group buildings.

_Usagi-san, are you the staff member that's mentioned in the news?_

_Yes. _

_You spoke to the NHK?_

_Exactly. _

_Did the IT department find anything?_

_No. _ So how could he contact the national television station? He didn't even know how to ask Usagi-san that, but he managed to understand what Misaki wanted to ask anyway.

_Someone needed to stand up for Sumi-sensei. Nobody else was going to do it. I'm going to be interviewed me for the morning news tomorrow. If the company wants to abandon Sensei that's their prerogative. I'm telling them the truth. I was going to ask Shiiba-san to speak up with me, but I couldn't ask him to do that. He's married and has a family._

How brave. And yet not surprising. He was clearly a man of principle and loyalty.

_Wow. That's huge._

_He's my mentor. And a good man who didn't deserve this. There's not much I wouldn't do for him._

_But what can you do since there's no proof?_

_The one thing I can do is to make people think and not just blindly accept it as truth. If people start doubting its veracity, that will be effective. Are you in the hall?_

_Yes. _

_Can anyone see you texting?_

Misaki looked around and moved his phone lower. Asahina-san was still speaking, and suddenly made eye contact with Misaki. Asahina had a weird expression on his face. Well it's not like he knew what Misaki was doing. He lowered his phone further, and tried to keep it out of sight of the unhappy looking PR director.

_No. I don't think so. Where are you?_

_I'm outside… Not sure where. I'm walking on grass though. I'm not sure why but they've turned the lights off. _

_Grass? Isn't there a golf course here?_

_Ah. That must be it. Try to discreetly leave without anyone noticing you, especially Asahina. _

Misaki looked at Asahina-san who was speaking to somebody and managed to leave the ballroom without being noticed. Where was the golf course? He ran to the front desk who nicely gave him directions and pointed him to the best exit and that he should be careful since the lights were turned off most nights to save electricity.

He texted as he walked towards the golf course. It was hard to spot with so little lighting.

_Usagi-san, will you lose your job? Can CEOs lose their job?_

_I might have to step down. CEOs answer to their board, so yes. It's fine. I always wanted to write full-time anyway._

_I managed to get outside. I found the entrance to the golf course. This place looks big! Are you sure you're there?_

_I have no clue. I wasn't exactly thinking when I left. I just started walking._

_Maybe you'll see the light from my phone._

_Or you'll see mine._

_You never told me your father died. _Why hadn't he? He knew everyone was different, but he wouldn't have yelled at him so much. It was kind of silly to bring it up though, but it had been bothering him ever since.

_You're right, I didn't. _

Misaki found the golf course but no sign of anything aside from an abandoned golf cart.

_I got used to keeping it to myself. It's complicated. We never get along. Nothing made him happy. I wasn't like my older brother and I was way too homosexual. It's easier not to talk about it with people. You might understand a bit._

_Yeah _

_I should have told you though._

_No. It's fine. And if I say it's fine it's fine. That's my motto._

_It is?_

_Maybe. Actually, my motto is that anything in the garbage is ownerless and free for the taking. _

Misaki looked at in shock. Usagi-san wrote an _emogi_? How was that even possible?

_Yes. I surprised myself too. _

_Misaki laughed and texted back. _

_Are you here? I can't see anything. _

Misaki's foot fell a bit into something. Oh. Golf course meant holes in random places. Well not random places. Just random for people walking in the dark. Shouldn't they have left a few of the lights on for safety?

_Okay. I think I have a new motto. Don't walk alone in a golf course in the dark._

_But you aren't alone. _

_Ah?_

Misaki still didn't see anything.

_I see you, Takahashi-kun. Wait for me and be on the lookout._

_Be on the lookout? Haven't you noticed it's dark out here?_

_Look for a light from my phone and don't say anything. The forest has voices._

_Forest?_

_Forest. Golf course. Same thing. I'm almost there. _

Misaki tried not to be nervous as he waited. What would he say to the man? Why was he so nervous?

_Usagi-san, you're so brave to talk to the NHK_

_Brave? I just did what's necessary. _

_But you had a choice. You could have acted differently, but you didn't._

_I just did what needed to be done. That's my motto, and it's yours too. You would have done the same thing._

Why was Usagi-san bringing him up?

_You don't know that._

_I do. From just the short time we've known each other I think I can say confidently that you would. _

How should he even respond to that? Misaki had never needed to take such a huge stand about anything. It was so strange, the two of them in the dark trying to find one another. It was kind of magical in a way. Even if it had gotten unseasonably cold. He impulsively texted again.

_I'm happy the phone I found was yours. _

_Me too._

Misaki smiled.

_I've had a good time. Okay, we've had some weird moments, too._

_Yes. Aside from Hasegawa, it's been nice._ 😊

_Another_ emogi?

_Okay. Who are you and what did you do to Usagi-san?_

_Usagi-san is still here. He's learning new methods of communication. I notice you've ditched the hugs and kisses._

Misaki scrolled up. He hadn't even noticed.

_I think being around you healed me, Usagi-san!_

And it would have been weird to send kisses and hugs to Usagi-san. Although could easily be rectified.

_XXXXXXXXXXX_

That wasn't as weird as he'd thought it would be. Usagi-san responded.

_XXXXXXXXXXXX_

Misaki giggled. Time for a kiss war.

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX_

_XOXOXOXOXOXXXXOXOXOOOOXOOOOXXXXXOOOOXXO_

😊😊😊😊XXX😊😊😊🐇XXXXOOOOO🐇 😊 _I think I've found you_

_You have? _

Misaki looked around but still didn't see anything.

_I'm very close by. _

Misaki finally heard footsteps and realized why he'd been so confused. Usagi-san had approached from the back. He was tempted to turn around, but something made him of him wondered if he'd realize it was all a dream when he turned around. Was Usagi-san thinking the same thing? Misaki could hear the man's even breathing as he approached. He gasped as strong arms encircled him. Usagi-san's hands were so cold, yet his body… so warm. He felt his body heat up as they pressed against each other.

He'd just become aware of how aroused they were too, as Usagi-san bent over and they started kissing and touching each other, in between gasps for breath.

He wasn't sure who broke it off first. Or how long it was. Maybe ten minutes later? Maybe less?

"I think we should…"

"Get back? Yes. That's a good idea." He had to calm down. If they'd stayed even a few minutes longer who knew what would have happened? On further reflection, Misaki knew exactly what would have happened, and how hypocritical that would have been of him, especially if Yoh was innocent.

As they approached the hotel, their make out session started to feel more surreal, like it happened in a dream. Then Usagi-san's phone had rung.

"Asahina-san. I'm walking to the hotel now."

As soon as they neared the building, they were surrounded by Asahina-san, Shizukuishi-san, Yanase-san all yelling at Usagi-san. Usagi-san managed to stay calm, but Asahina-san looked like he was going to lose it. Sumi-sensei spoke to Usagi-san and it was time to head back to Tokyo. The company had gotten taxis for everyone. He got in one with Usagi-san, looked at this phone and then put it down. And the next thing Usagi-san was calling his name and that he'd managed to fall asleep against the man's shoulder and blushed.

"I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine. Are we at the right building?"

Misaki peered outside.

"Yes. How did you find out?"

"It's in your phone. You looked exhausted so I didn't wake you up."

"It's fine. Thank you."

"And I did some detective work as well. I've checked your messages, and it's Takatsuki-san. Your fiancé is almost certainly seeing him."

"How did you figure that?"

"It's a theory, but it looks like he's lied multiple times. He talks about being places that wouldn't be possible to get to in the time given. He's been surprisingly sloppy.

"Another indicator is how Miyagi-san and Takatsuki-san always message you around the same time. Were you aware of that? They're extremely consistent."

"How did you realize it from all the texts I get?"

"It's basic data analysis. My first job at the company was as a financial analyst. I still love writing best, but if I had to chose my favorite job that's got to be it. It's like solving a puzzle. Look at this chart." Usagi-san took out a piece of paper from his pocket, unfolded it and handed it to Misaki.

Misaki blinked. He'd barely passed statistics and was having difficulty following it. It must have been obvious, because Usagi-san showed him the phone instead.

"Let me show you an example. This is perfect: Takatsuki and Miyagi both separately text you at 6:30 asking how you are. Then at 8:30 Miyagi says he'll be at the office late working on an article and not to wait up for him and Takatsuki says he's looking at montsuki. At 8:30 pm he's going to be looking at outfits for your wedding? What's even open then? It makes no sense."

Misaki studied it. He had wondered about that, but figured it was a home business and the proprietor had atypical store hours.

"It doesn't prove anything. Why were you doing this anyway?"

"Well, you were sleeping, and I thought I'd try to help you. And it's not just that email. This is a pattern in your emails, your texts, and in line. A week after this, Miyagi said he couldn't meet you for lunch and five minutes later Takatsuki says he's going to be busy until 2:30 Why would he need to tell you this? You're not his secretary. What he's doing is giving himself an alibi.

"Then a day after that, out of nowhere, Miyagi had a symposium he'd 'forgotten' to tell you about in Hatagaya. Eight minutes later, Takatsuki emails you that he's in Tochigi to look at tablecloths. Why does he need to go all the way to Tochigi for tablecloths, and, more importantly, how did he get to Fukuoka when he said he was in Tokyo 45 minutes earlier? Tochigi is at least 90 km away. That's not even possible!"

Misaki frowned and bit his lip. "I don't know. It's just… so confusing." Not to mention incriminating. How could he not have noticed any of this before? It was like some sort of black comedy. Seriously? Takatsuki and Yoh?

And who sent the message in the first place telling him that Yoh was cheating on him? Usagi-san continued.

"Another time, Miyagi-san said he was having extra office hours and Takatsuki suddenly couldn't make a meeting with you and said he'd send Yoshino as his substitute."

_Yoshino._ Of course. He would have sent the message. He'd been so intimidated by Takatsuki-san so he would have been too scared to say who he was. At the same time, he could have seen them together., since he worked for Takatsuki. Yoshino _knew_ and wanted to help in the only way he could but was too frightened to leave his name. It was a good thing Yoshino had found a job as a mangaka. Hopefully he'd be successful and Misaki would find out which magazine he was getting published and support him! Even if it was Shojo.

"Then it's true. Yoh's been cheating on me all this time."

"It's a theory. A very strong theory, but I could be wrong. Still. I needed to tell you anyway. Here's the chart."

Misaki took the piece of paper and I got out of the car. The driver probably wondered what was taking so long.

Misaki looked up and they made eye contact and suddenly he felt like he was back on that golf course. Which was bad of course. That had been a dream. Something remote and almost fictional.

"I guess I should finally give you your phone." Misaki reached into his back pocket to take out the phone.

"It's yours. You've worked hard for it, but you're freed from your forwarding job. My PA starts tomorrow. And who knows how long I'll be sticking around anyway."

"Thank you. I hope… I hope everything turns out alright. For you and Sumi-sensei."

"I'll be fine. I've got novels that are just waiting to be published. Well, after editing and rewrites of course. But what about you? It's got to be a shock."

A shock. Well that would cover it. But the driver was getting impatient and it was getting close to midnight. It was time to say goodbye.

He watched Usagi-san wave to him, get in the car and leave.

It was dark and quiet in his apartment. No texts from Usagi-san. Not that he'd be getting anymore from now on. And Yoh had most likely been cheating him for who knows how long. Everything he knew about the man had been turned on his head. He was bereft and oh so alone.

**Aw, Poor Misaki. **

**Anyway, finally, the big awaited kissing scene, although Kinsella tends to do that with her novels where she makes the reader wait seemingly forever for anything to happen with the main characters. In the original it's a forest, but I don't think there are forests in Chiba. The hotel I superficially used as an inspiration has a golf course, so I used that. **

**Thank you, TheBlueLynx, for your kind review. Writing this story has been a bit of a balancing act. Sometimes I adapt JR to fit the novel and sometimes I fit the novel to fit JR, all while trying to remain true to both, while not plagiarizing and making it my own, but it's been fun to write. I recommend the novel. She's a hilarious writer. **

**And I know it's a **_**serious**_** bombshell that Miyagi's almost certainly been cheating on Misaki with Takatsuki. It's not like they're together in JR or anything. Oh wait… **


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Misaki stared at the newspapers splayed out all over his table. He'd gone to the convenience store and purchased every daily paper. It had been surreal seeing photos of Usagi-san, Sumi-kaichou, Okamato Kondo, and Asahina-san. There was even a cartoon portraying Sumi-kaichouas a greedy pig.

Still, the general feeling was confusion. Usagi-san had been successful. Some of the editorials were against Sumi-kaichou, but one noted how he'd always been known for his honesty and integrity in the business world and questioning whether the veracity of the memo.

And Usagi-san – how was he holding up? Misaki picked up his phone and sent a quick text.

_Hey. I saw the papers today. Hope you're alright._

He didn't get a response, which wasn't too surprising.

Misaki had spent a mostly sleepless night. When he wasn't trying to sleep, he had taken out Usagi-san's chart and tried to puzzle it out without succeeding or looked at photos and stared at Yoh's face, trying to look for signs of guilt.

He had sent a completely meaningless text the night before.

_I'm doing well and enjoying the trip – Yoh_

Well of course he was enjoying himself. He'd managed to snag a fiancé and keep a boyfriend on the side! Although maybe Yoh was innocent? Or what if he was even know realizing he'd made a huge mistake, and would pledging his undying loyalty after he told his patient loyal husband-to-be?

The text could have meant anything, and Misaki was getting sick of waiting for him to get back to explain himself. He needed to know the truth now.

He looked at himself in the mirror. Forget poufy, his hair was all over the place and his fingers were full of newsprint. He washed his fingers then leant into the sink and doused his face and a bit of his hair too then brushed through his mop. Work. He hadn't been in days. Okay, so he wasn't supposed to be in until he'd returned from Hawaii, but it wasn't like he had much of anything to do anyway, so why not now?

He dropped in at the bakery and splurged for kuma cream puffs for the office and a cappuccino and savored in the quiet; his reward for being the first in. It was good. Paperwork seemed to be an endless occupation and he could see how his clients had been progressing. Kirishima-san came in next and gave him a weird look. The guy was a nice boss, but he had a bad habit of getting into people's business, and right now was not the moment. Luckily, he seemed to understand that he wasn't in the mood for a chat.

Then Kojima-san, the receptionist, arrived and turned on the tv and went through the mail.

"Takahashi-sun, you've got a package."

He opened it. He'd forgotten he'd ordered fancy swim trunks for the trip or why he'd had them shipped to the office. He stared at the package blankly. Who knew if he'd even have a honeymoon to go to? When he'd ordered that he was still so excited, thinking of him and Yoh enjoying themselves together in Hawaii. He frowned. Kojima turned on the tv to a morning news program.

"Today's main story is all about possible corporate corruption." Misaki turned his head to the tv. "Here to hopefully shed some light on this is a man who has known Sumi-kaichou for decades, Isaka Gentaro, former President of Murakawa Shoten and a close friend."

"Weird. I used to work at Marukawa when I was at university," Kirishima-san said as he passed by.

A picture of Usagi-san was shown, and Misaki felt this strange pang in his chest and didn't understand why. Maybe because he could lose his job? Or maybe because last night out of nowhere they were kissing and touching each other all over. Or maybe because he knew he'd never see him again? Or how soon after the same man whose lips he'd been devouring had told him about Yoh and Takatsuki?

"Wow, what a gorgeous face," Kojima-san gushed. Is he Sumi what's his name?"

"What are you saying? Of course not!" Misaki snapped. "Uh... sorry… I didn't get much sleep last night." _Idiot_.

"It's alright. I'm surprised you're even here, Takahashi-san. Can I get you a coffee? I'm making a pot now."

"Great. I had some extra time, so I figured I'd get some paperwork done." Except now he was regretting it.

"Takahashi-kun!" Misaki looked up to see Aikawa-san enter with Kisa-san. "We were just saying we missed you and here you are!"

"Hi. I thought I'd get some paperwork done early, but I think I'll just head out."

"Okay, but before you go, Kisa-san has something to say to you. Right, _Kisa-san_?" Aikawa was nudging the man which made Misaki wonder whose idea this had been. "We were just talking about how telling you in person would be so much preferable than writing an email, _right_?"

"Uh... well… so, Michan, I'm sorry. I was inappropriate with Miyagi-san the other day, and I only did it because I was frustrated with my own personal life." Oh yeah, with the cute sparkly boyfriend leaving him for a couple of weeks, Misaki remembered vaguely.

"Yes. And I think Kisa-san wasn't finished yet." Misaki bit his lip in an attempt not to smile.

"Yes. Also, you're with Miyagi-san because it's meant to be, and it has nothing to do with switched appointments. You were clearly meant for each other and I'm never going to mention that again."

Wow. This woman was so badass. If she had worked for Usami Industries, she'd have put Shinoda-san in his place in a second.

"Thanks, Kisa-san. It's okay." Now if he could only stop calling him Michan…

"I don't want to spoil your wedding and I'm really excited for you."

'It's fine, Kisa-san. The last thing you're going to do is mess up my wedding." Because chances were Misaki would be calling it off, because all this time Miyagi Yoh hadn't really loved him at all, and no he wasn't crying again. Aikawa-san led him to his chair and Kisa-san held a box of tissues out to him.

"Misaki, what's wrong?" He didn't know what it was that did it, maybe Aikawa calling him by his first name or that soft tone of voice she used.

"I'm okay. It's just pre-wedding stress." It was so tempting to tell them, but what if Yoh ended up being innocent? "I didn't sleep much last night."

"What you need is a good breakfast."

"Are you sure? I brought in a box of kuma cream puffs for everyone, did you see?"

"No. I mean like a fancy butler café breakfast where gorgeous men service your every whim."

"When you say butler café, do you really mean host club?"

"No. I mean butler café."

"Maybe, another time."

Misaki's phone started ringing with the caller ID unknown number. Kind of like those anonymous messages he'd gotten… He jumped.

"Sorry. I better get this."

He ran to a therapy room, closed the door while answering the phone.

"Hi. Yoshino-san?"

"Wrong." It was a woman.

"Ah." If it wasn't Yoshino-san, then who could it be? Could it be Takatsuki was innocent even after all that data analysis of Usagi-san's? "Can I help you with something?"

"Maybe. Can you help me find Usami Akihiko-shachou? It's urgent. I need to speak to him." _Usagi-san_? "Since you have this number you must know how to reach him."

"Sorry, I was a bit confused. You want me to give Usami-shachou a message?" Misaki realized he wasn't exactly in the message forwarding business anymore, but maybe one more time wouldn't hurt anybody.

"That's not going to work. It's critical that I speak to him today."

"I can email him your contact information."

"And then I definitely won't get a response. It's about the phone you're using right now." How would she know what phone Misaki was using?

"Wait. Who do you know that? Who are you, exactly?

"I guess I shouldn't be surprised. I'm Takada Mikiko. I was Usami-san's PA, but I doubt anyone remembers me."

They ended up meeting at a family restaurant. Takada Mikiko, at 170 cm was taller than he was, and looked every inch the model and voice actress she professed to being. After sitting down with some sandwiches and tea, Takada-san told her story.

She was in between voice acting jobs and she went to the convenience store and saw all the headlines about the scandal.

"You might have heard that my family's really close to Sumi-san. We call him Oji-san actually. Of course, they had to be in Europe, and I couldn't find anyone who knows him. I tried calling Sumi-kaichou but nobody answered. Then I remembered somebody had to have my old phone. I wasn't so surprised I couldn't get ahold of Usami-shachou though That man made it an art on not answering the phone or email. So, are you his PA? You don't like one."

"It's kind of complicated. I'm not his PA. I was helping him a bit when he needed it. My name is Takahashi Misaki. Thank you so much for meeting me."

"Nice to meet you Takahashi-san. Why did he need the extra help?" Misaki couldn't believe it. Shouldn't that have been obvious?

"Something to do with his PA leaving him in out of nowhere."

"_Oh_. Oops. It's just my agent called with a major opportunity I couldn't miss. I figured he'd be okay. He always is, although I guess I must have pissed him off now that I think about it." _You think?_ "So, if you're not his PA, why do you have the phone?"

"I found the phone in the trash and thought it was ownerless. I ended up meeting Usami-shachou and started helping him." Misaki took out the phone to show Takada-san.

"Ah. Of course, I remember. I usually ignored the phone calls." Misaki fought to keep his voice neutral. It was strange how matter of fact this woman was about how she totally failed at her job.

"Which leads us to why I'm here. I can help him. He needs to check the voicemail."

"Voice mail?"

"Yes. For some guy named Okamato. I think he must have had the phone before me. They kind of creeped me out."

"Do you remember why?"

"There was only one person who called. He kept talking about taking care of something and how much money it would cost or how long it would take, and something seemed off."

"Did you have Usami-san listen to the messages?"

"He didn't listen to them, when I told him about them. He told me to get rid of them, but I always felt something was weird there. Then I read the papers and there's Usami-san talking about a memo and that it was a frame up and it all came back." She gulped her tea. "I'm certain that's what the voicemails were about!"

"Do you remember how many voicemail messages there were?"

"Five. Or maybe it was six. Something like that."

"Interesting, because there is no voice mail on the phone now. Did you erase them?"

"So that's the thing. My girlfriend is a major tech genius and she showed me how to save them on the computer. She's brilliant. Oh. Are you freaked out I'm into women? I have an intuition for these kinds of things, and you seemed pretty queer to me."

"No! I'm not freaked out about that although a lot of people aren't so open. So, um… yeah I'm actually marrying my boyfriend in a couple of days." _Or not_, he thought to himself and tried to relax. Takada-san didn't have to know about his screwed-up love life.

"Nice! Congratulations. Anyway, Sumire's amazing at computers. She came to the office and showed me how to save all the voicemails into a file. She works in network security."

"Great. Do you know where the files are now?"

"Well… I don't know who's been using the computer, but there should be a folder on the desktop called Phone Messages. I don't think people delete anything on that machine. It usually gets ignored most of the time."

"I'm going to text Usagi-san now. This sounds important."

"Great. Who's Usagi-san?"

"Oh. Did I say that? I meant Usami-san of course." Misaki started typing furiously.

_Hi. It's critical you call me ASAP. I think I might have something that can help Sumi-sensei. It's super important so please call right away!_

"Don't take this personally, Takahashi-san, but Usami-shachou is infamous for not answering messages or emails and his PA already told me he wouldn't be available to-" She was interrupted by the sound of the phone ringing. "Or maybe not. Impressive."

Misaki accepted the call. "Thanks for calling."

'Takahashi-kun?" Misaki started to smile. He'd missed that low voice.

"Are you in your office?"

"Yes. What's going on."

"I need you to go to your PA's computer and look for something on the desktop." Misaki waited a minute.

"Okay. What am I looking for?"

"A folder that says Phone Messages. Do you see it?" Misaki clenched his fingers and tried to calm down.

"Yes. It's there."

"Immediately back it up in at least one place. Takada-san is here and you're going to want to speak to her."

"Takada-san? That pointless PA who disappeared?"

"Yes, just listen, please."

"Fine." Misaki handed Takada-san the phone.

"Yes. It's me. I'm sorry I ended up leaving rather abruptly. Takahashi-san sounds like he's done a great job helping you, though."

Misaki sipped his tea. It had been good hearing Usagi-san's voice; so comforting and reassuring. If only he could talk to him about what was going on. Of course, that wouldn't happen. After the golf course incident, he didn't even know what their relationship was, and it was clear they weren't going to discuss that. Ever. It had obviously been a mistake. They'd both been overemotional and exhausted.

Takada-san was waving the phone in front of his face.

"Everything okay, Takahashi-san? Usami-san sounded happy when he started listening to the files. He told me he'd call you back soon. Now tell me all about the guy who got you that huge emerald. It's gorgeous by the way."

"He's a professor. It's a family heirloom."

"Wow. Nice. Were you surprised?"

"Yeah, kind of." When everything seemed so innocent and Misaki had been so excited he'd wrapped his arms around Yoh; That all seemed a decade ago, before he thought his fiancé was sleeping with another man. He'd been so stupid. And he was starting to cry again in front of a stranger. He was losing it.

"Takahashi-san, are you okay?"

"Not really, because I found out he might be cheating on me, and I feel so lost and our wedding is in two days!" He blew his nose into his napkin and took a deep breath. "I'm sorry. You didn't need to hear this."

"Don't worry. What made you think he was cheating on you? You didn't catch him on the phone or something?"

"No. I got an anonymous message."

"It might not be true. Somebody could have a vendetta for some reason."

"I just don't know, and he went away for a few days to Seoul."

"I think you should confront him directly. I had a cheating girlfriend, and okay, we broke up, but I felt good when I confronted her. It was a lot worse when I didn't know what was going on. Anyway, good luck and send my regards to Usami-shachou."

Maybe he should have taken Usagi-san's confrontation workshop. Right when he was about to leave, another phone number came from Unknown Caller.

"Hello. Takahashi Misaki here."

"Hello, I'm one of the managers at Teito hotel." Teito hotel? They had to be calling about his ring. Which was odd, seeing how Takatsuki-san had found it in his book bag. "I'm just so sorry about your experience at our hotel, and I wanted to explain what happened."

"It's fine. You don't have to."

"I think I do though. I'll explain. I was on the way to secure the ring in our safe when a man came up to me who'd also been at the raffle. He said it was his sister's and he was borrowing it and told me how annoyed she'd be with him if he lost it. One of the waiters had seen him at the table, so it sounded legitimate, and I believed him."

"I understand. Can you tell me if this person had short light brown hair, dark blue eyes and was about 165 cm tall?"

"Yes, that does sound like him."

_Takatsuki-san_. He'd purposely taken the ring. All that about finding it in the seam of his shoulder bag had been a _lie_.

"Thank you so much. I appreciate your honesty, but it's fine now. I've recovered the ring. Thank you for calling me."

"Good luck!"

Time to meet the wedding planner. He sent Takatsuki a text.

_Hi. I've got some free time now. Do you need any assistance with anything? _He took a deep breath as he waited for a response, which came quickly enough.

_I'm finishing up a few things. Nothing I need help with. _

Takatsuki-san's apartment was only six or seven stations away from this restaurant. Maybe he'd have a little visit and get some answers.

Before he could change his mind, he paid his bill and ran to the nearest subway station.

Six stops and a ten-minute walk later he was standing in front of Takatsuki's door on the ninth floor.

Maybe Yoh would open the door dressed only in his boxers with that satisfied afterglow look on his face.

Whoever Takatsuki had been expecting, it hadn't been Misaki. He looked shocked, and was holding what looked like a passport, which is when Misaki noticed the huge suitcase in the hall.

"You're headed somewhere?"

"Australia. Thanks for asking."

"You stole my ring." Misaki's heart was racing. He wasn't used to this confrontation thing. It was so nerve wracking.

"What's the big deal? You got the ring back in the end."

"Fine, but you were the one who took it and told a hotel manager it was yours!" Misaki stepped into the apartment and fold his arms across his chest.

"Takahashi-kun, if you' re going to be obnoxious, you can go back home. I don't have time for this." Wait. But Takatsuki was the one who took the ring! Why was he acting like Misaki did something wrong? And he was sick of being called _kun_. "If that's all you wanted to know, I've got a lot to do-"

"Wait. Just a moment! I want to know why you took the ring."

"Like you would even begin to understand."

"Try me, _Shinobu-chin_."

I took the ring because it belongs to me."

"How?"

"Before you came around, _I _ was dating Yoh, and _we_ were supposed to get married – well do adult adoption- but just because I'm the dean's son and he'd almost been married to my sister, he got cold feet and changed his mind, before he'd finished proposing! Stupid old man. He's lucky I still like him."

"I never heard that! I knew he'd dated another man before me, but how was I to know it was you?"

"He had that ring in his hand, then he suddenly said 'Oh, Shinobu-chin, I'm not sure about this,' and then he acted like it had been a huge joke. And then I go away to Australia for a few weeks to visit friends and come back and he's dating _you_."

"Is that why you're still sleeping with him?"

Misaki tried to look into Takatsuki-san's eyes, but he turned away.

"I know you're sleeping with him. Just admit it."

"Fine. I've been sleeping with him, because he's mine, not yours and deep down he knows it too."

"And that's why you've been so unhelpful with my wedding planning. You're pissed off that it's not you."

"Ah, you're not as much an idiot as I thought. You're getting it. Now if you don't mind, I'm getting out of town, so I won't have to see the old man make an idiot of himself by marrying the wrong man."

"That's all you're going to tell me?"

"Well, he didn't want you to figure it out, but too late there. Meanwhile, I need to finish packing, so if you excuse me."

It was true. All of it was true. Misaki ran down all nine flights of stairs, feeling like his whole world was crashing down on him.


	17. Chapter 17

Chapter 17

Ten minutes later he was still walking; not sure where he was or where he was headed. _Why?_ Why had Yoh done this to him? He'd been right. Usagi-san. All that charting and data analysis.

He kept going back to all the times Yoh had said he'd loved him. It had felt so genuine. So why -_why_ had he been cheating on him? Nothing made any sense.

There was one good thing. He'd managed to confront Takatsuki and hadn't let the jerk mess with him. He walked aimlessly as he vaguely noticed familiar landmarks here and there.

After fifteen minutes of wandering he called Yoh. Maybe he was back in Tokyo and getting serviced by Takatsuki right this moment. He took a deep breath and left a message. "Hi. It's Misaki. I need you to call me right away. Thanks." He should have ended the call there, but he frowned and continued speaking. "Because there's something I heard... I visited _Shinobu-chin _just now, and she told me something you'll want to hear about, because it has to do with you and him, and either he's lying or you are-"

And then the connection died.

So much for him leaving a short terse message a la Usagi-san. That had been… a _mess_. Well, he'd made the call, and had been direct… well, sort of. He was a work in progress and what was he supposed to say: Takatsuki says you're banging him on a regular basis?

He hailed a cab. He needed answers, and it was high time he and the Miyagi's had a serious conversation. Then he turned off his phone. If Yoh wanted to reach him, he could wait.

Well, somebody was home and blasting something classical from the sound of it. And he could do this. He had the showdown with that bastard Takatsuki and now he'd handle Yoh's horrifying parents.

Misaki took a deep breath, put on his war face, well, his very polite war face, and rang the doorbell.

Miyagi Rei answered it. His mother in law. Well, probably not anymore with such a broad geniune smile.

"Michan!" It was weirdly sweet how she'd called him that. Which didn't quite help his resolve to be tough and war like. Had she always been so genuinely nice to him like this?

"Hi Haha-san. I'm sorry but I need to speak to you."

Miyagi Rei seemed to understand the seriousness of the situation as she invited him and offered him some tea.

He followed her into the kitchen, while noticing for the first time how messy the place was. Dishes were piled in the sink and the garbage can was overflowing. There were file folders strewn all over the table and chairs, and an unpleasant smell that he couldn't quite place seemed to be emitting from somewhere nearby.

"Sorry, Michan. You've caught me at a messy moment. I'm reorganizing my files, but I'm at the point where it's messier than I started, which leads to the _burning_ question. Do I file or incinerate?" She laughed at her pun.

Miyagi-Haha removed a file folder which revealed a grocery bag. She opened it to reveal wht looked like a whole mackerel. That would explain the smell. She frowned, dumped it in the trash and moved them into the living room.

At least the smell improved. They both sat down on the saggy leather couch. The room just screamed academia. It fit the Miyagi couple perfectly. Miyagi Rei was obviously in her element as she sat across from him with her long hair tumbled in front of her face. She looked at him patiently.

"Yoh-san-" Misaki tried to start and couldn't continue.

"Yes, Michan?"

How should he even word this?

"How many people has Yoh proposed to in the past?" Okay. Perhaps a bit blunt but he had wanted to get to the point. Miyagi-Haha started sputtering a response.

"Uh… well… I think you should speak to him, no?"

"I would, it's just he's in Seoul. So, I thought I'd speak to you."

"Ah. I understand." She looked so serious.

"Takatsuki-san told me Yoh almost proposed to him and years before almost became proposed to Takatasuki's sister, and yet nobody told me any of this."

"Well, none of that worked out. But all that's history now. Yoh cares for you. Michan. And he should. You're a wonderful boy." Misaki blinked. Did she even realize how patronizing she was calling him a _boy_? Misaki was sick of being patronized.

He took a breath and blurted out before he could change his mind, "Miyagi-Haha, you act like I'm beneath you. Is this how you feel or am I just imagining it?'"

Then he almost laughed. Had he just said all that? _Out loud_?

"I don't understand. Why would you say that?" Miyagi-Haha looked so surprised Misaki with her eyes popped open, he realized they were same blue-black color as Yoh's. He hadn't prepared for this part, but this wasn't how he would have imagined would be her response. Maybe some evil cackling? And rubbing her hands together. Like in _Za Kan_ when his favorite chef's evil twin when he was about to attack the city in the _Imposter Flambé_ arc?

"Whenever I'm here, I feel like you're better than me. Every time I've visited. I'm just wondering if that's how you feel about me…"

Misaki watched Miyagi-Haha run her fingers through her messy hair. "I think we both need a stronger drink." She took a bottle of shochu and poured a generous amount into two glasses. "You caught me by surprise."

"I'm sorry, Miyagi-Haha. I didn't realize.'

"It's fine and apologies aren't necessary. This is your understanding and perception of the situation, and I'm gratified that you feel comfortable enough to express yourself to me. My question to you is what led you to think this?"

"Well, you're academics and very intellectual and publish your research in high level journals. I don't do any of that."

"It's not part of your job to do any of those things, is it?"

"Well, it's like I don't know about the Brontë's."

"You seemed to know a fair amount when we had our scrabble game."

"But before I had no clue. I had to look it up. Before I got everything confused, and Miyagi-Chichi said he thought it was cute that I was a physical therapist, and it made feel so _stupid_."

"Well that's Arata for you. He's a bit incompetent socially. He tends to put his foot in his mouth and not realize it. He means well, but he can be a bit, how do you say it? Dense? Like how he likes calling me his Murasaki even though Genji was a cheating womanizer?"

It was tempting, but Misaki decided not to segue into talking about Yoh by saying 'speaking of cheating bastards.' Instead he took another sip of his shochu.

"How do I say this, Misaki? We're quiet. We're not very effusive my husband and I. We were always like this, from childhood. Yoh as well. One thing I know for a fact, though is Arata likes you and has always thought well of you, as I have. We genuinely like you. He would be saddened to hear you've been so anxious about our perception of yourself."

"So why were you fighting about me at the pre-wedding party?"

Miyagi-Haha looked like Misaki had punched her.

"Ah. That was… unfortunate. You shouldn't have had to hear any of that. I'm sorry." And took a huge swig of her drink.

This was all very nice, but it was time to get to business.

"Haha-san, Takatsuki-san told me Yoh's been sleeping with him, and because of that I have to cancel the wedding. Let's be direct. You and your husband can't stand me, and that's how it's been from the beginning."

"_Shinobu-chin_?" Miyagi-Haha looked horrified and sighed. "When will Yoh learn?" She looked so sad, Misaki was almost sorrier for her than himself. "Misaki, I'm sorry. I can't defend his actions."

"You don't sound so surprised though."

"I had my doubts, but he'd matured so much." Well he should have, Misaki fumed. The man was 38 years old. "But that's what you overheard at the pre-wedding party. I had nothing to do with you, and more to do with him. He has a history of impulsively jumping into relationships and then backtracking. At first, we thought it was due to his sensei. You know about her?"

"I know he spent years getting close to people only to break up shortly after they got engaged, because he kept comparing them to her."

"Exactly, but then he was set up with Dean Takatsuki's daughter. Risako-chan, and we thought he was over her. They were close to getting engaged but then everything fell apart. Then he really surprised us when he started dating Shinobu-chin a few years after that. It was… awkward."

"I see. You do have a problem with homosexual relationships?"

"No! Not at all. That wasn't it. It was that he was Risako's sister, hence, the son of Yoh's boss, not to mention underage. Yoh could have been arrested. It wasn't that he was male at all. We'd long suspected Yoh was bisexual. To be honest, I played around myself when I was in college." Nice, but way too much information. "He said he was going to propose to him, and we were very relieved when he changed his mind. He could have lost his job. In fact, his whole career could have been ruined, so of course we were happy they broke up.

"When he met you, we thought he's doing it again. He's rushing into something he's not ready for. We liked you. You were never the problem. When we spoke to Yoh, which I'm sorry you had to overhear, we were trying to convince him to wait longer. Date for a year and then have the wedding. Admittedly, it wasn't the greatest timing. We didn't want you to get caught in his stupidity."

Who knew how many relationships Yoh had been in after his Sensei and before Takatsuki-san, and how many times he came close to proposing? He'd never thought about asking about his past. Except they had. They'd gone to eat at a family restaurant, and ended up going over their old relationships, but somehow proposals or almost proposals hadn't been mentioned.

No wonder his parents and had acted awkwardly around him and kept on giving each other weird looks.

"I was so sure you couldn't stand me. I was so sure you didn't think I was deserving of the family heirloom when he gave me the emerald ring." Misaki was almost talking to himself as he processed all the new information.

"Not deserving?" Miyagi-Haha looked so sad at him. "I still don't understand where you got this impression."

"Tell me then, what was the problem with me having the ring, because it was obvious you didn't like it."

"Because it's something easy to do. Please don't take this the wrong way, but a year or two after his sensei died, we happened to pass a jewelry story and we went in. He wanted to get me birthday present. The point is, while we were there, he showed me an engagement ring and said he wished he was buying something like that for her.

"I think that when he's completely committed, he'll buy his own ring or have his bride or groom choose. That's why it upset me that he gave you the emerald."

"I didn't realize it was like that."

"I'm sorry it's ending this way. I don't know if I can convince you, but I really do like you Takahashi Misaki. You're so personable and fun to be with. You bring the good out in people, and I was so looking forward to be your mother in law."

"Yeah. Me too." How strange life was. He'd spent his entire engagement terrified of Yoh's mother, only to belatedly understand how nice she really was.

He took off his ring, handed it to Miyagi-Haha and clasped their hands together for a moment. "I guess I should be giving this back to you."

"Oh, Misaki-kun. Isn't there a way-"

"It's over. I can't wear this. It should go back to your family, and I never felt that comfortable wearing it anyway." He grabbed his shoulder bag and stood up. "I guess I'll be going now. Thanks for the drink."

"Are you sure it's not fixable? You didn't tell Yoh yet?"

"No. But that's not going to change anything. We're finished. Sorry."

Miyagi-Haha walked Misaki to the door and gave him a big hug. She really was sweet in her own way. Too bad they couldn't stay in touch.

Now what? He couldn't afford another taxi, and the subway sounded too overwhelming. He noticed a park across the street and sat down on a bench.

He needed to tell the priest, and Nii-chan, who never liked Yoh anyway. Yoh. No. Miyagi now. _He's been in love with Takatsuki this whole time? _

And suddenly all the times he'd caught the man unawares with a sad contemplative expression on his face made sense. Maybe a part of him loved Misaki, but the same way it took a long time to get over his sensei, he still hadn't gotten over Takatsuki. Maybe he'd thought if he married Misaki it would get Takatsuki out of his system? He'd clearly been wrong.

He took out his phone. He had forgotten he'd turned it off when he got to the Miyagi home and was rewarded with multiple messages, most of them from Usagi-san.

_Takahashi-kun? We have everything we need to clear Sumi-sensei in those voice mails._

_Can I call?_

_Call me whenever you have a moment. It's lively here. We're going to be having a bit of a reorganization. Huge Press conference later in the day. Asahina-san mentioned he'd liked to talk to you too._

_Takahashi-kun, we need to see the phone. Can you bring it in ASAP?_

Not surprisingly, the man answered his call on the first ring.

"Takahashi-kun. I'm so glad you called. You don't know how much you've helped us by finding this file." It sounded like he was trying to speak over a whole crowd of people.

"Well it was Takada-san really."

"But you spoke to her and met with her. Asahina-san says he wants to buy you a drink, but he'll have to get in line." Misaki had never heard Usagi-san sound so happy and jovial. "IT wants to see your phone, in case there's anything important on it. Do you mind bringing it in?"

"Not at all. It's fine."

"It's not a bad time or anything?"

"No, it's fine." _I'm just calling off my wedding because my fiancé is love with the wedding planner. _

"If it's difficult I can send a messenger.

"I can come in. No worries." And if it stopped him from thinking of Miyagi Yoh and their ruined life so much the better.

**What the hell, Miyagi Yoh? If you want to date Shinobu don't break up with him and then break Misaki's heart! Oh wait. The whole point of this AU was to put Usami Akihiko and Takahashi Misaki together, and hey, you can have fun with your 'terrorist' even if you really shouldn't have been sleeping with him when he was underage because that's kind of gross. **

**Thanks, Shiranai Atsune for reviewing again. I'm glad you're enjoying.**


	18. Chapter 18

Chapter 18

What a change it was walking into Usami Industries from the last time, when he'd resorted to drawing a soapy rabbit on the window to get Usagi-san's attention. Today he was practically a celebrity with a whole group ready to greet him including Usagi, Asahina, Yanase, Shizukuishi, and a few other people who hadn't met before. They had assembled in a conference room and even had a badge readied for him. So many people were talking at one, but the main thing was the voice mails had worked. Shinoda-san had admitted to the whole thing. Okamato Kondo had disappeared and a few other high-end staff had been found to colluding with Shinoda. Sumi-sensei's name and reputation were saved. Usagi-san looked like he was glowing, or maybe that's because he was smiling so much?

"Everything's changed," Usagi-san said happily as they walked down the hallway towards his office.

"That's amazing news!" Misaki smiled back.

In Usagi-san's office a couple of people from IT were waiting for them. They introduced themselves as Hatori Yoshiyuki and Mino Kaede.

Mino smiled and shook Misaki's hand.

"So, you're the guy with the celebrity phone. Can I check it out?"

"Sure." Misaki took his phone out and handed it over.

The two men proceeded to carefully press buttons as if it was a ming vase.

"Is it alright if we take this?" Hatori asked suddenly.

"Take it?" Misaki must have sounded upset. The two men exchanged confused looks.

"Sorry. We thought it would be alright, because it's a company phone." Usagi-san came over from his desk. He was radiating a calm but authoritative aura.

"Ah. I already gave it to Takahashi-kun. Is it a problem?" Usagi-san frowned and bent his head in a perplexed manner. If his intended effect was to make the men nervous it worked. Mino-san started stuttering out a reply.

"Ah… w-w-we were hoping to have an indepth investigation, and It might take some time. We could get you a new top of the line model if you like." Usagi-san smiled.

"Perfect. Get him the newest and best rated model available."

Misaki tried not to let his disappointment show. He didn't want the fanciest phone. He wanted _that_ phone. It had so many memories. it was _theirs_. He didn't want IT to hack it to bits or whatever they did to phones at a tech post-mortem. Not that he'd say that. Instead, he smiled but bit hi lip.

"That all sounds great. Here. Please have the phone."

"The next question is what you'd like us to do with your contacts, emails and messages."

"After my phone was stolen, I started saving my contacts on the cloud. So that's not an issue. I'd like my emails and messages though."

"Not a problem. Right, Hatori-san? We'll put them on a USB. We'll also print them out." Mino smiled.

"Uh… just a moment. Some of them belong to me." Usagi-san interjected.

"I don't understand. I thought this was Takahashi-kun's phone?"

"It is and it isn't. Most of the time I was using the phone it really belonged to Usami-san. It' a bit complicated, but we shared it."

"_Sharing_?" Hatori had a look of utter horror on his face, but Mino kept smiling.

"That's kind of cool. I never thought of that possibility."

"I can't ever imagine sharing my phone with my uh… girlfriend."

"Would you recommend it, Takahashi-san?" Mino asked while maintaining his constant smile. Did that mean smile 24/7?

"It was definitely memorable." Usagi-san raised an eyebrow while looking a little too intently at Misaki for his comfort. The last thing he needed to do right now was remember last night.

"I enjoyed it. It's something worth trying at once."

"Interesting. We'll get to work on this now. Let's go, Mino-san."

"When do you think you'll be finished?"

"About an hour or so." Mino called back as he was leaving.

Usagi-san closed the door which was when Misaki noticed he had a scratch on his cheek. He hadn't had that last night, had he?

Last night when they were kissing each other and touching each other and how amazing that man smelt and how strong his arms felt and how aroused they both were and no no no no _no_ he wasn't going there now!

"What a crazy day." Misaki said and let himself be led to the couch by Usagi-san.

"Now that nobody's around, how are you holding up? Did you find out anything?"

"Not much happened… except for me cancelling the wedding." Misaki tried to sound casual, like he was talking about getting a pair of shoes, then realized he'd have to say all that to who knew how many people. And how was he going to survive all that?

Usagi-san grimaced. "Ouch. That sounds painful."

"Yeah. Oh well."

"Were you able to reach him?"

"No. I went to see his Mother. I asked her 'Miyagi-Haha, you act like I'm beneath you. Is this how you feel or am I just imagining it?'"

"You _did_?" It was cute how Usagi-san's eyes popped up and that smile… it really did light up his face.

"The exact wording!" Misaki giggled. "I hope you're proud."

"I am. That's what we call bravery. What did she say?"

"It's kind of sad because all of my feelings of inferiority were in my head. It turns out that she's quite nice. Unlike her son."

They sat in silence. Even though he'd said the wedding's off it still didn't seem real somehow.

"Any plans?"

"I don't really know."

Misaki kept looking down. He didn't want to see whatever was in Usagi-san's eyes. "There's a lot to deal with. I guess I'll make a list and try not to get overwhelmed."

"Want some coffee?" Coffee. He'd had way too much of that substance today. The tension was driving him nuts. He didn't know what Usagi-san was hinting or thinking. The truth was yesterday was just a coincidence. They had been stressed and needed to relieve it. And now was another day and he needed to see beyond last night.

"Coffee would be great."

Usagi-san opened a small fridge and frowned as he looked through the cans lined up. From the looks of it they were all black coffees.

"It's fine, Usagi-san. I don't mind black."

"But you can't stand black coffee. There's a vending machine down the hall. You should have the drink you like."

Misaki laughed nervously. "I never told you I didn't like black coffee."

"Yes. You told your boss - Aikawa-san - in an email. Ah! And you thought you were the only spy around here." He smirked.

"Wow. I'm amazed at your memory. What else have you learned about me?"

Misaki looked up and met his intense gaze. Those eyes - they just drew him in like last night, and was _Usagi-san_ thinking about last night too?

This was ridiculous and Misaki needed to stop now.

"It's fine. I'll skip the coffee."

"Please. The machine's around the corner. It's not a problem."

"No, really. I should go. I'm sure you've got a lot of things to do now. I have to… um… do an errand. I'll be back in a bit."

Misaki ran out and started walking towards the Tokyo Tower, pretending he was a tourist, with all the time of the world before heading back. It was amazing how familiar places looked so different just pretending you were from out of town.

When he returned, Usagi-san was at his desk in the middle of a phone call looking every bit the executive. Was he still going to quit and write full time? Not that it was any of his business.

There was a knock on the door and Mino-san peeked his head in holding large file folders full of paper and a couple of USB drives in his hands.

"So, you have your choice. I have a USB for both of you. The paper's a bit bulky. Something went wrong and every text ended up on a separate piece of paper. I'm glad I opted for duplex printing."

"Wow. It's like a book!" Had we really sent that many messages and emails in less than a week?

"So. This folder is business emails and goes to Usami-shacho. And here's your USB." He took aside some of the huge pile and put it on his desk while handing the USB drive to Usagi-san.

"Fine. Thank you." Usagi-san flipped through the papers.

"And the remainder goes to you and here's your USB just in case you might want to have copies of your files."

"Perfect. Thank you."

"So that leave us with this pile. We weren't sure what to do with it. I guess it belongs to both of you."

"I'm not quite understanding."

"It's everything you sent each other. Line messages. Emails. All in order from oldest to newest. Should we throw them out?"

Misaki peered at the pile and tried to figure out the picture. Ah. It was him trying to show a pinky promise. He turned the page and read.

_Hmm. The Tokyo Metropolitan Police would find this picture very interesting._

He flipped over the page.

_Ah. But you wouldn't do that would you? I really appreciate all your patience! Thank you thank you thank you! :) :) :) :)_

That had been so long ago. Except it hadn't it just felt like it had. When Usagi-san was Usami-san, this cold annoying person he barely knew. Usagi-san had come up and was peering at the pages along with him.

"It's odd to see everything on paper."

"Yeah." Misaki flipped. He'd forgotten he'd sent Usagi-san so many pictures of bad teeth. Well, the man had needed incentives to make that dentist appointment!

Misaki flipped through the page. It was a historical record of all their phone interactions.

"_Spanieless insert underneath the E for Emily. A female spaniel, used in the novel Villette by Charlotte __Brontë __in Chapter 36."_

_Usagi-san? I know we only met once but did I really resemble an animal?_

_You're up late._

_Well so are you._

_I'm waiting for a call from the Paris office._

_Ah. I can't sleep. I'm so DOOMED. My life ENDS on Saturday!_

_Okay. Return the phone first please._

_Usagi-san fix your tie. It's crooked._

_Interesting. I never knew you had also been invited to this event._

_I was just stopping by to get your souvenirs for you since I thought you were in dangerous mountainous regions without phone service. _

_How's Asahina-san doing?_

Misaki flipped towards the end. Last night. Somehow it was like he was back there on the golf course again. He flipped through the pages, trying to keep a neutral expression on his face.

_Can anyone see you texting?_

_Okay. I think I have a new motto. Don't walk alone in a golf course in the dark._

_Usagi-san, you're so brave to talk to the NHK_

_Brave? I just did what's necessary._

_I'm happy the phone I found was yours._

_Me too._

😊😊😊😊_XXX__XXXXOOOOO__ I think I've found you_

_You have?_

_I'm very close by._

The pile of papers made a large noise as Misaki replaced them on the desk. It was like an epic saga. He smiled.

"Thank you, Mino-san."

"No problem. I'll leave it to you to figure out what to do with them."

"We'll figure something out. Thank you." Sam waved as Mino left. "Now. You need some coffee. I'll be right back." Usagi-san smiled and left before Misaki could say anything. What a stubborn man.

Had Usagi-san felt anything when he read the pages… had he also been brought back to last night? Misaki had almost smell the grass it had felt so real.

As he was pondering this, Usagi-san came back with a triumphant look on his face as he passed Misaki his can of coffee.

"Thanks." He opened the can and took a sip. How anyone could drink coffee without milk and sugar…

"So. Interested in keeping these?"

Was this man serious? Of course, he wanted them. They weren't on the USB and they told their story. Whatever that meant. But if he said that, it would sound weird.

"Ah… not particularly. You want them?"

"Eh. It's not that crucial." Usagi-san flipped through a few pages idly then checked a notification on his phone.

"Oh, crap. Not this. Again."

"What happened?" It couldn't have been him. He didn't even have a phone to do any damage with!

"What did you write to Ijuuin Kyo?" This was bad. Usagi-san had that horrible dark look in his eyes.

"_Ijuuin-sensei_?"

"Why were even writing him in the first place? He's talking about an email you sent him. He's livid."

"I never sent him an email. I'd never do that." Well aside from all the fan letters he'd written over the years. But he hadn't sent him an email from Usagi-san's account!

"He's telling me a different story. Okay. Let's just do this systematically, shall we? I'll check the sent mail. Ah. Here we are. Explain _this_."

_Sensei, you need to get a grip and figure it out. You're not his boyfriend so it's not your business who he's with. Just go to Ni-chome and take a guy home because you obviously need to get laid!_

Suddenly a cold chill filled the air because he had typed that. But he'd deleted it right away. He'd never send Sensei that, because aside from all the weirdness and the horrifying unfair way Sensei had treated him, he still was his all-time favorite mangaka and he'd never ever would want to hurt him.

And yet he'd been so annoyed he'd maybe written the email out, but he'd deleted it right after, hadn't he?

Well… no. He'd somehow sent it instead.

_Nii-chan, I've really done it now. You were the best brother. I'm so proud to be your little brother. If only we'd had more time to spend together before my untimely end. _

"I don't know what happened. I wrote that but I thought I'd deleted it. I don't know what happened, but I wouldn't have purposely sent that to him."

Misaki read it again. Ijuuin-sensei must have really flipped out. He'd attacked him right where it hurt. He would have been shocked.

"Do you have any idea the mess you've just made for me? _Again_?"

"Wait. It's not your mess. I sent the email. It should be my problem. Not yours."

'Well that's not how things work with Ijuuin Kyo. This is going to be a major headache- no – a migraine, that I'll have to take care of."

But why? Misaki sent the email. And yes, it was bad. But it was one email. Meanwhile Sensei had sent Usagi-san thousands of toxic missives, so wasn't he taking it in perspective?

"I'll write him back and beg forgiveness. But I think you should calm down. He's not your boyfriend. Not any longer. So, you don't have to spend any time on this."

Usagi-san was frowning and typing furiously. Had he even heard any of what Misaki had said?

No. And it all made sense.

"You're still in love with him."

"What? Now what are you saying? We broke up months ago. I'm completely over him."

"Your behavior says otherwise. Because if you were over him, you wouldn't be so upset about this email. You should just admit it." And then maybe just get back together instead of sending mixed messages to other people.

"You're the one getting upset now. I don't understand why."

"Because you're not being truthful to your feelings or to me!" _And I'm humiliated, because we kissed last night, and it's gotten me more confused than I'll ever admit to you. _"You told me how the two of you had broken up half a year ago, but the whole reason you got upset about the email is because you are not over him at all."

"That's bullshit!"

"So why haven't you told him nicely to stop acting like you're dating? It's because you like it. You miss him in your life. You like getting the attention from him. It's a safe way of dating him without having to deal with the actual person."

"You have totally crossed a line and you have no understanding about anything you're talking about."

'Fine. Well maybe you'll work things out and be a couple again. Maybe this time around you'll be happy."

"Takahashi-"

"Now what?" Misaki banged his can down which fell over the paper leaving little drips of coffee all over the top page.

"We shouldn't be arguing. Why don't we sit on the couch and start over?" Usagi-san;s voice was now low and calming.

Misaki took a deep breath and put on his shoulder bag. He shouldn't be so upset, so why was he? And Usagi-san's talking to him in a quiet voice just underscored how loud he'd been. He hadn't realized how much of an idiot he'd been.

"I'm sorry. I'm just overwhelmed with everything that's happened. It was so nice of you to lend me your phone. I really enjoyed our time together and I do hope you'll find happiness with Sensei or without him. And I hope everything works out with your writing career. I'll head out now."

"Taka- _Misaki_, don't leave like this."

"I don't know what you mean. I've got a wedding to unplan. And family and friends to be interrogated by-"

"Can you give me just one more minute?"

"Of course." Usagi-san bent over and looked directly in his eyes. He took Misaki's hands in his. "I just wanted to thank you again." Those purple eyes. They were so intense.

"Thank you too." They shook hands and Misaki kept walking until he was out on the street and blinking back tears. It was ridiculous. A month ago, he didn't know this man existed.

He walked into the nearest phone shop and ordered the fanciest phone available.

Now. Who to call first? Misaki smiled grimly to himself and found a private alley way and dialed a number he knew all too well. It went straight to voice mail, and suddenly hearing that jovial voice asking him to leave a message made him go over the edge.

"Hi, _asshole_. Takatsuki told me everything. I know you've been sleeping with him and that you almost proposed to him too. I know you've almost proposed to half of Tokyo and that you're a complete bastard. Oh. And I've cancelled the wedding. Enjoy finding a use for your montsuki. With your track record you should probably give it to somebody who'll make it to his wedding. don't want to see you EVER AGAIN! THIS IS GOODBYE, BAAAAAAAAAAAAKA!"

**So Hatori and Mino are in IT in this, and yes, the end is a reference to when Misaki yelled at Haruhiko at Teito hotel in the manga/anime. **


	19. Chapter 19

Chapter 19

After a brief visit to the convenience store, it was time to put Misaki's plan to action, but before he could do that, he had to make sure he had all the supplies needed: One box of Parm Espresso Latte ice cream bars. Check. One home hair treatment. Check. Selection of videos. Check. Yes. Logically he knew that using food for comfort wasn't the healthiest option and it wouldn't solve his problems, but did he give a crap? No. And it was a lot better than listening to Nii-chan say he never liked Miyagi anyway, or having to deal with the priest who'd gone out of his way to do the ceremony for them. Or telling Kisa-san he couldn't rent his condo to him in the end. Or what about Eiji, who was supposed to be flying in from Vancouver?

Which reminded him of the video clip Eiji had sent him this week. Even though this man worked for a living as a marine biologist, he knew people who knew people and he'd managed to get himself a role as a bit character in a tv show who gets killed at the beginning of the show. Of course, he hadn't told Misaki that. He'd just sent him the clip and, no, Misaki _didn't_ want to watch his good friend and former lover be shot up with arrows and fall off a building to his death, even if it was fake and he was playing a bad guy. That was for sure not what he'd be watching.

Anyway, phone calls. They could easily be done _tomorrow_. And he'd have more time to make an organized list this way. He'd do that tomorrow, as well.

Tonight, he was going to relax, try the new treatment to depouf his hair and eat all the ice cream bars. He'd already texted his new phone number to everyone, without divulging in the exiting newsflash of the cancelled wedding. He frowned. He needed to get back on track. Videos.

What to watch? There was always _Za Kan_, but as much as a die-hard fan he was he needed a break. And yes, finding out his favorite mangaka had it in for him maybe had a part to play there. What he needed was a rom com marathon. He'd watch the best of all the romantic series he'd ever recorded and never told anyone about. There was always _Zettai Kareshi_. He'd always suspected the only way to find a good guy was if he was manufactured. Or maybe start with his secret collection of movies and series based on BL manga. He'd start with _Hana wa Sakuka_ and then maybe _Doushitemo Furetakunai _and move on from there.

He'd just put in the cream – why did they all have to smell like coconut? And added a hair bag. He knew he was doing badly when the older lead showed up and he was already tearing up thinking of Yoh. The actor didn't even look like him. Why was he watching this anyway? He'd had enough of being the younger man in a relationship. He'd had enough of older men altogether, so why was he watching a movie about an age gap romance? Well. Robot boyfriend it is. And that actor was sexy. Shit, he'd forgotten how sexy he was, and the other main lead was even sexier. He switched movies and helped himself to another ice cream bar.

Oh, he'd forgotten the main character had had a crush on a good-looking asshole. He was kind of like the main character. Why was he so good at dating jerks? Aside from Eiji, almost every guy he had dated had treated him like crap. It just wasn't fair, and now that he'd started crying, it would take forever before he could stop. That's just how it was. He either trickled or gushed when it came to tears. There was no middle ground, and he could feel a geyser coming. It was so stupid too. He was at the part when the robot boyfriend arrives, and she freaks out and hides him in the bathroom. That was supposed to be funny.

Weird. Someone was ringing his intercom. He waited. Whoever it was had probably pressed his apartment by accident. Except the ringing persisted. He walked over to the intercom and looked at the small screen. _Yoh_? What was he doing here? He must have heard the voice mail message. Well too little too late. Still, he had to say something.

"Yes."

"Can I come up?"

"I thought you were in Seoul."

"I returned."

"You lost your key?"

"Ah. I thought you might have had the lock changed." Okay. Yoh had to have heard the message.

"Good idea. I'll call a locksmith."

"Can you let me in?" _No. You can rot. Or join Shinobu-chin in Australia._

"Fine." Misaki angrily buzzed him in before realizing his hair was ensconced in a pink hair bag and his living room was a mess of DVDs and ice cream wrappers. He was about to run to the bathroom and wash the treatment out, and then stopped himself. He threw out the wrappers, and put the DVDs back on the shelf, but only because Misaki prided himself on his clean and neat apartment.

Misaki sank back into the couch and tried to ignore the sounds of Yoh letting himself in. He turned back the video and focused on the screen even as he was all too aware of his fiancé, no, _ex_ fiancé's – movements: carefully taking off his shoes in the genkan and slowly walking into the living room and sitting on the couch looking like he was walking on eggshells. Well, he _should_ walk on eggshells. No. On eggs. Raw eggs in his socks. And then he could feel the disgusting squish as he walked.

"Hey."

Misaki didn't bother responding, but just nodded his head while he pretended to be engrossed in the video.

"Misaki."

"Miyagi." Because if they were breaking up there was no reason to call him by first name, was there. Then he made a major mistake – he made eye contact. Miyagi seemed to consider that an invitation to get closer and hold Misaki's hand in his kind of the way he'd done right after they'd gotten together. Misaki freed himself and moved farther away on the couch.

"No! You don't get to touch me anymore!"

Miyagi raised his hands in surrender, and looked sad, almost like he hadn't been the reason for this happening in the first place.

"Misaki. Please. Let me explain."

"Explain? I don't need you to explain anything. It's like the whole time we've been together was a lie. You've lied to me so many times I don't even know who you are anymore. I just want you out of my life."

"Okay. I did something wrong and I won't deny it."

"'Did something wrong?' That's an understatement!"

Misaki turned up the volume to tune Miyagi out. The robot boyfriend was showing up again because he'd been programmed to protect the main character whether she liked it or not. _So funny!_

"You're right. I hurt you. That's the last thing I ever wanted to do."

"So why did you do it? Why did you think it was okay to sleep with Takatsuki? Why were you marrying me in the first place when you wanted him? WHY DID YOU DO THIS TO ME?" His whole face felt hot and he'd never screamed like that in his life.

"Misaki. You need to calm down."

"Calm down? CALM DOWN?"

"Please. I love you Misaki. It's just Shinobu-chin… it's difficult. I can't say no to him. I never could. He's a terrorist."

"A terrorist? I thought he was going to Australia, not ISIS."

"He was so persistent. I had broken up with him, because I needed somebody more mature… somebody like you, Misaki. But he kept on coming to my office, and I couldn't say no. I can't ever seem to say no to him, but the truth is I don't want him. I want you."

"Well, too bad for you then, because I'm no longer available."

Miyagi grabbed the remote and turned the tv off.

"Please. We had such a good thing here. I made _one_ mistake. Can't we move past that?"

"One colossal mistake! Why didn't you tell me about all your near engagements? You never told me about Shinobu or his sister or why you never ended up getting married to either of them."

"I did tell you that I couldn't get over my sensei. And I guess I hadn't really gotten over Shinobu. It takes me… longer than other people, but I knew from the start that you were the right person for me. I'm weak. I should have told Shinobu no. I should have rejected him. I'm sorry. I just know we're right for each other. Let's start over. We just have to make it past the wedding…"

"Make it past? You sound like you're talking about a marathon!"

"What I mean is we're all ready for the wedding. After that, it'll be just you and me. Us. I've said goodbye to Shinobu. He's moved away. Let me start over. I want to commit to you. Here, I hope this is proof of enough."

Misaki watched as he fumbled for something in his pants pocket. A ring box?

"Misaki. I got you this before I left for Seoul."

Misaki opened the box to reveal a ring made of a gold knot shaped in the infinity symbol with small emeralds embedded in one of the loops. What had Miyagi-Haha had told him? That when he really wanted to commit, he'd buy his own ring? But Miyagi had betrayed him! But maybe it was just a moment of weakness?

"Why did you decide to get this ring?"

"I wanted to get you an emerald to match your beautiful eyes and I want to give you infinite happiness."

Yoh was looking at him with those soft sweet eyes of his. But he'd made a huge mistake! Still. Should he throw everything they had away? Shinobu-chin had left the country, and now they could a life together, and soon Yoh would forget all about Shinobu and only think of Misaki. And had he been so faithful to Yoh? A day ago, he'd come way to close to servicing another man in a golf course.

Usagi-san.

No. That hadn't been real. They'd just gotten over excited and overwhelmed. Maybe that's what had happened with Yoh and Takatsuki.

"Do you like it?"

"It's… wonderful, Yoh."

"Just like you. You're unique… priceless. You're the gem. Please say you'll marry me."

"I… don't… know."

He'd gotten a new email. Earlier he'd sent an email to Usagi-san apologizing. Kyo really wasn't his business and he shouldn't have said anything. And now he was getting hi reply. It would be good to get closure there.

"Misaki? Are you there?"

_Thank you for contacting Usami Industries. Usami-san has received your email. Someone will endeavor to reply._

Usagi-san had sent that ignore goodbye email or whatever he'd called it. In other words, he'd gotten the PA to give Misaki the brush off. Which meant whatever Misaki had been feeling had been completely one-sided, and all this posturing on his part was hypocritical. It was good Yoh couldn't read minds, because then he'd be able to see to see exactly how he'd started to fall for another man.

And the truth was all of that was an illusion. What he had with _Yoh_ was real and he owed him a second chance.

"Is everything okay, Misaki? Did something bad happen?"

Misaki closed his phone and put it on the table.

"No. Everything's great. And you're right. It's easy to make a mistake even when its not what you really want, and it's just being distracted by illusions, but the point is…" What was the point?

"The point is you've showed me you're committed to me now. And, I want to honor that commitment."

He slowly took the ring out of the box and looked at it.

"You chose this ring just for me." He put the ring on. "So yes. I will marry you, Yoh."

"Thank you. Thank you, Misaki."

He felt himself being engulfed in those large arms.

Yes. He was doing the right thing. He was really getting married tomorrow.

_**THE END.**_

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**Okay, maybe not.**

**Zettai Kareshi or Absolute Boyfriend was a manga and multiple live action serials about a woman who gets a robot boyfriend. **

**Hana wa Sakuka is also originally a manga about a 37-year-old falling for a 19-year-old. It wasn't bad but it was somewhat disappointing. The manga was ten times better. **

**Doushitemo Furetakunai also from a manga. I haven't watched this one.**


	20. Chapter 20

Chapter 20

Misaki stretched as he got out of bed. Yoh had ended up spending the night, but they'd both been too exhausted for anything but sleeping. Nii-chan would be here soon to help put on the montsuki. He could hear Yoh talking to himself from the bathroom working on his speech from the sound of it. Misaki peered into the open doorway. Yoh was standing in front of the bathroom mirror looking excited. Misaki smiled. Yoh was probably talking about how everything was perfect once he'd met Misaki or something sappy like that and making sure to include enough Basho quotes.

"Guess what world? You were wrong. I am getting married, even if they all said it would never happen." Yoh slugged on a bottle of sake. Okay. Sake in the bathroom. That was strange, not to mention unappetizing.

There was something else off. Misaki bent his head in concentration. He frowned as he realized. For somebody getting married, Yoh looked a special kind of miserable. Shouldn't he look happy on their wedding day? Okay, nervous, but a joyful nervousness? Yoh kept talking.

"I've gotten married now so everyone can just go to hell!" Misaki gasped.

"_Yoh_! You can't say that in a wedding speech!"

Yoh turned around with an expression of surprised embarrassment

"Ah, Misaki. I thought you were sleeping."

"Please tell me you're not planning on saying that."

Yoh took a large gulp of his drink. "It's a work in progress."

"How much of this have you had?" Misaki lifted a bottle which seemed to be mostly empty.

"I'm entitled to indulge on my wedding day."

Misaki frowned. Having a drink to relax yourself was one thing, but this looked more like getting blasted.

"Relax, Misaki. I'm not going to be drunk at our wedding. I'm just psyching myself."

"Psyching yourself?"

Yoh meanwhile was playing with Misaki's hair.

"You're so gorgeous, you know that? You have such nice hair."

"Huh? My hair is all over the place. I just woke up."

"Well, you look beautiful anyway. Ah, well. I'm going to run home and get changed. I'll see you at the hall. I can't wait."

Misaki blinked. One moment, Yoh was acting like somebody was holding a gun to his head and forcing him to get married and then he was smiling like everything was fine. And when had he gotten that scratch on his chin? Had that been there earlier?

Was Nii-chan like this the morning of his wedding? He couldn't remember. Misaki felt nervous but not this weird anger. Had his father been this way before he'd gotten married? If only he could just ask him. They should be here at his wedding with him. No. If he kept going in this direction, he'd become a crying wreck. Good things. He had to think of all the wonderful things he had. It was just hard. His parents, wherever they were, were happy for him and they would want him to be happy. Should he ask Nii-chan if this was hard too when he got married?

As if he heard Misaki's question, Nii-chan showed up with Manami, five-year-old Mahiro, and two-year-old Takami. After Misaki had finally put on his montsuki with Nii-chan they rejoined the others.

"Misaki, I'm so excited for you. I know that our parents are watching us now, and how proud of you they are." Nii-chan smiled and then Misaki realized there had been no mention of Yoh anywhere there. So typical of his brother. He was going to be supportive of Misaki no matter what, but he probably still didn't like the guy.

"Thanks, Nii-chan."

Misaki felt something, or rather, somebody adhering to his leg. "Mitaki!" Misaki looked down at Takami and smiled. This had to be in the Takahashi genes.

"Ah! Takami! You've gotten so big. You look like you're four now!"

"Yes! I am." Misaki laughed and ruffled his niece's hair while extricating his leg from her grasp.

"Do you remember when Mahiro used to do the same thing, Misaki?"

"Of course, but now he's big."

"Congratulations, Oji-san." And so formal. He looked like a little man while he bowed.

There wasn't much to do to get ready now that he was dressed, and Manami had done some hair taming for him. Everyone was pampering him, which quickly became annoying. One of the things he'd always been so careful to avoid is having people go out of their way for him and here they were excited to do it. It was hard to give in but they all wanted to pamper him and were enjoying it and it was nice how food and drinks appeared without him doing anything. Soon it was time to go to the hall, where the ceremony would take place. After the ceremony Then the MIyagi's lawyer was going to be there with the adult adoption papers and Misaki would become Miyagi Misaki. Which didn't sound too bad after all. Okay. He was warming to it. Slowly.

Everything was moving smoothly. Misaki looked at his reflection in the mirror. His green eyes looked dull and he looked tense. This wasn't how he wanted to be on his wedding day. His montsuki looked perfect. What was it? He tried on a smile, but he looked more clownish than anything.

Kisa-san peered over.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah. I'm just nervous."

"Yeah. If it was me, I would be plotting getaway plans. Everyone would think I'd be gone out of the country, but really, I'd be clubbing in Ni chome and looking for a threesome. Or a foursome."

"Um… Kisa-san, maybe too much information."

"Sorry! The driver's here and I get to accompany Groom Number One to the hall. Unless you want a get-away car and I'll have the driver take you to Ni chome. You'll look a little but odd in your montsuki but who cares."

"It's fine, Kisa-san. I don't need a get-away car. Isn't that for bank robbers? So, you're with me?"

"I thought you were the one who made the plans. Your brother and his family are in one car with your aunt and uncle and me, Yukina, Aikawa-san, Kirishima-san and the delightful Hi-chan are coming along in your limo."

"You're right. I'm not thinking. What happened to Yokozawa-san?" Kisa-san rolled his eyes.

"He's coming separately so nobody realizes he's dating Kirishima-san. Please. He needs to give up already. I got a newspaper for you, while we wait for the cars to show up, and the newest _Japun_. I know all about your _Za Kan_ obsession."

"Thanks." Misaki looked through the paper. He flipped through and saw a familiar face on page 3 about the scandal and the important thing was he hadn't even reacted. Okay, so he'd reacted to seeing Usagi-san, but not nearly as much as he'd done before.

The limos showed up and whisked them to the hall, and Misaki concentrated on feeling radiant and fulfilled. This was happening. Miyagi Misaki. Miyagi Misaki.

Aikawa-san peered over. She'd brought that guy she'd started dating. Maybe the smoking hadn't been such a deal breaker after all. Well the man was tall, gorgeous, and funny. And he was clearly happy to be with her. Which was good. Aikawa-san had dated a series of clunkers just in the years he'd known her, and she'd regaled him with horror stories from her past, so this was good. She was bearing down on him with a concerned frown on her face.

"Takahashi-kun, are you okay?"

"What do you mean?"

"You look a little off-color… kind of green actually. Are you having motion sickness?"

"Here." Kisa-san offered him a plastic bag.

And then they were there at the hall, surrounded by a lot of Miyagi side friends and relatives. So many people he didn't recognize, and yet were here to celebrate them.

Nii-chan still wasn't there. They'd gone a different way and gotten into major traffic.

Kirishima-san had gotten the priest to come over.

"Misaki, you don't look well. Sumi-san?" Misaki looked almost expecting it to be Sumi-kaichou and was surprised to see a younger man with glasses. Maybe they were related?

"You don't look so well. Might I suggest you rest for a bit? Hopefully, you'll start to feel better soon. We're still waiting for more guests to arrive. I have some snacks in here." Misaki let himself be led away to a small room. He took a deep breath.

His phone blipped. Notification. It was Usami Haruhiko. He'd almost forgotten about him.

_I'm a fully functioning human again. Thank you for everything! _

A fully functioning human? The guy had been weird, but nice, and it always felt good seeing his clients finish therapy with their mobility returned to them. _I should be working now. Helping people._

He blinked. Which groom wanted to work on their wedding? And which one looked like puke on their wedding? What was _wrong _with him?

Another text from Nee-chan came in.

_Misaki, we're almost there! This traffic is insane!_

Misaki took another sip of barley tea. It was going to be fine. He was going to be fine. Everyone got nerves before their wedding. It was normal.

Another ping. Probably Nii-chan this time.

Usagi-san? Why was _he _messaging him?

He opened the message.

_Hello_.

How formal and yet beyond vague. Well he might as well reply.

_Hello_.

_Are you busy now? _

What was this 'are you busy now,' message? Of course, he was busy. On second thought, the last time they'd talked Misaki had said he was cancelling the wedding. So Usagi-san had no idea.

_No right this moment. _Well it wasn't like anything was happening yet.

_So, I'm not so good at this, but you were correct._

_What do you mean?_

_About Ijuuin-sensei. I was angry because I didn't want to admit how right you were. I contacted him. _

_How did it go?_

_Well it was painful, but I made sure he understood. I said we're over, it's finished and to stop sending me emails. _

_Wow. He probably wasn't happy._

_That's an understatement. It was good to finally end things correctly though. _

_Wow. _

Usagi-san didn't respond. He knew he had to leave the room soon, but he needed a little more time.

Another text.

_Are you at work? I hope you're keeping busy. Today was supposed to be your big day, right?_

_Yeah. _

_Well, I have something to make you feel a little bit better. _

A picture came of Usagi-san pointing to a sticker on his lapel and smiling. The sticker read "I had my teeth cleaned!" and had a bear on it. What a silly man to be happily wearing a sticker meant for kids.

_Good job! _

_Want to grab a cup of coffee?_

Misaki blinked and blinked and finally gave up and started wiping away the tears. Didn't Usagi-san remember he'd already sent him that ridiculous hello-goodbye email?

_You're the one who stopped talking to me._

_What? I don't understand._

_That email. The go away email you told me about. You sent me it._

_No. But as you know, I tend to ignore my emails. That must have been from my PA. she's good but I'm beginning to think a bit too good sometimes._

Usagi-san hadn't sent that? And now everything was all going upside down in his head.

_You didn't take it personally, did you? _

_I don't think I can explain._

_Try me._

A picture would be a lot quicker. He took a selfie of himself in the montsuki and sent it. There. And now to move on. They were over. Whatever that meant. They'd only been connected superficially. And their sweet interlude in the golf course, would remain just that: nice, short and over.

His phone started blipping so many times he thought something was wrong with it at first.

_Please tell me that's not a montsuki. _

_There's no way._

_No!_

😢

_You can't be serious._

_Misaki please tell me this is a joke._

He couldn't breathe. What was up with this guy?

_Things changed and I've got at least one hundred people here waiting for me. I need to go now._

_Okay, fine, but do you think he really loves you?_

Misaki stared at his infinity ring. Did Yoh love him? What did that even mean in the end? No. Yoh showed his commitment by buying him the ring. That had to mean something.

_I think he does._

The replies came back so quickly it was like Usagi-san had already queued them up beforehand.

_You're wrong._

_Please don't do this. _

_Think it over more. You'll realize it's wrong._

_Please!_

Misaki bristled. How dare this guy just come up and tell him all this! And what was the point? This marriage was happening. It had to. Because it was meant to. Wasn't it? And Usagi-san didn't have to come back out of nowhere and confuse him!

_What are you expecting me to do here? _

Misaki concentrated on his breathing. A deep breath in and a deep breath out. Repeat. Which was when the door opened followed by Nii-chan, Nee-chan, Mahiro, Takami, Aikawa-san and Kisa-san.

"Misaki, are you feeling better now? I think we're ready to do the ceremony."

"First, let me hold on to that for you." Misaki turned off the phone and handed it over right as more texts made their way. From Usagi-san probably. As he contemplated taking it back and checking them, Aikawa stuffed the phone in her purse. And it was better this way too. Usagi-san was probably just repeating himself and he needed to be here and now and not in this delusional world of make believe. This was his wedding. And all his friends were here. Including Eiji-san who was standing next to his husband. They made eye contact and Misaki waved vigorously. With his phone off, his whole world with Usagi-san was cut off as well, and that's how it needed to be.


	21. Chapter 21

Chapter 21

Aikawa smiled brightly and Misaki smiled back trying to put away what just happened as easily as he'd just handed over his phone.

"Misaki. You look amazing. By the way, we're getting a celebrity at work. He's going to be seeing Kirishima-san next week! You know the guy who was framed in that scandal?"

"Sumi Ryouichi-kaicho?"

"Exactly! Apparently, somebody highly recommended him. Somebody with dark hair and green hair. Ring any bells?"

"Maybe."

"Well, that somebody's getting a little bonus. Maybe he needs to be switched to the sales and marketing division." Which didn't exist but it was sweet.

And now it was almost time. First the Shinto Purification Ritual, and then they'd sign the adult adoption papers. The priest would be getting him any minute now. Misaki heard footsteps

And looked up into the eyes of a shorter and prettier Miyagi Yoh. Which made sense after she introduced herself. It was his sister who lived in America, was married with three children and was a full professor at Stanford University. Well, of course.

"Misaki? I'm so glad we're finally meeting. It's about time somebody got this guy to settle down. I'm Sanae Hoshino. Yoh's older sister."

"Ah. It's so nice to meet you."

Suddenly the woman peered at his ring.

"Oh good. He listened to Haha-san and took the ring."

"What?"

"Well she did fling it at him. You know this I'm sure, but my mother thinks you're amazing, Misaki. They haven't stopped talking about you since I got here last night."

"I don't understand. Why did she throw the emerald ring?" And okay Miyagi-Haha was somewhat on the eccentric, but even she wouldn't start flinging expensive heirlooms around.

"No. Not the heirloom. I know all about that one. The ring you're wearing now. She threw it at him after she took it out of her jewelry box and got him right on the chin too. My mom's sweet until she cracks, and then, watch out!"

Something wasn't adding up. Why had the ring Yoh bought been in his mother's jewelry box?

"I'm confused. Yoh didn't buy this before his trip to Seoul?"

"No way. Even if I hadn't been there, I'd recognize that ring anywhere. It's Haha-san's favorite."

"So why did she give it to Yoh?"

"I'm not really sure. I kind of got there for the end. I was pretty much there for the ring toss." His future sister-in-law was looking like she wished she hadn't said so much, but Misaki could figure it out. Hadn't the woman told him that when Yoh was ready to commit he'd buy his own ring? She must have been so desperate to salvage their relationship she gave away here favorite ring." Misaki started to feel nauseous.

Which was when Sumi-san came up looking every bit the Shinto priest he was, and he really did look a bit like Sum-Kaicho.

Okay. He needed to focus.

And for a ceremony which was usually done with only family, the place was packed. Yoh was already standing at the front in his montsuki. Everything was going in slow motion as he passed all the smiling faces and. It was just a ring. Yoh had committed himself. Takatsuki-san was out of the picture. They were starting over now. And Usagi-san – he was practically a stranger. Everything felt fuzzy like he was walking in a dream and this wasn't how he pictured his wedding day at all.

Yoh was sweating profusely. If Misaki looked nauseous, Yoh looked like had the flu. He had to focus. He concentrated on the rice, sake, fruits and the rings on the altar. The shrine maiden was on the left and the priest was at the right and they were at the center but farther away.

They watched the priest purify the shrine and started the ceremony of the three cups of sake which were supposed to represent oaths.

The smallest cup was given to the groom, but with two grooms they'd arbitrarily decided on giving it to Yoh first. The cups increased in size the second and third times. Everything was fine.

Until Yoh had passed the second cup and had dripped half of it onto Misaki's montsuki because he had been shaking so much.

And then they approached the altar for Misaki to listen to Yoh give the vows. Normally the groom talks, but since they were both grooms, they'd decided they'd both have turns.

Yoh clearly wanted to go first.

"So, here's the part where I vow to do lots of things. We all know what it is. Let's just skip this part. Oh. And thanks Physios-R-Us for being the matchmaker, sort of."

"What? Wait? We're supposed to say things to each other about how we're going to treat each other in our marriage."

"Eh. You know what I want to say so that should be fine. The rest isn't important."

The waitstaff were starting to distribute small cups of sake to everyone which was supposed to happen after the vows. No. This wasn't how this was supposed to be done!

"WAIT!"

Everyone was staring at him now. That really had been rather loud hadn't it.

"Uh. I just need a moment here. Sorry."

He turned Yoh around to face him and whispered angrily.

"What do you mean the rest isn't important? This is part of the ceremony! It's extremely important!"

"Please. We both know that the ceremony means anything anyway. The real deal is the adult adoption. So, I'd like to get going here."

"What do you think we're doing here, then?"

"Having a cultural experience, but not it's all just symbolic."

"No, it isn't. You're supposed to mean what you say and put effort into saying it."

Misaki turned to face the way too large group of family and friends, all now holding a cup of sake in readiness and spoke up. Okay, he could be loud but that was a good thing sometimes.

"Who here thinks the vows said are important?" he yelled out, trying to ignore Yoh's horrified whispering in his ear.

"Misaki, ah, aren't you taking this a bit too far?"

He saw Kirishima-san look next to him holding up his hand and smiling at Yokozawa who actually smiled shyly back and discreetly held up a hand. And then suddenly the whole place was filled with people raising their hands or giving Misaki two thumbs up in the case of Eiji.

"Misaki, I do mean what I say."

"Yes? What do you mean then? What do you think about fidelity? Or staying by my side no matter what? Forever?"

No. He'd probably never even gotten to that point, because the whole time he was still in love with Takatsuki-san, and you couldn't just substitute one man for another and have everything work out, even if they'd worked well together.

The whole ceremony was becoming a farce because it was a farce. But he wasn't going to give in and cry. He was strong. He put on his battle face. He could do this.

"Yoh." He tried to sound firm but gentle. "This whole thing is pointless. You're not marrying me because you want to be with me. You're marrying me to run away from your problems with Takatsuki-san, but I'm not the one you love. Not really."

"That's not true."

"It is true. The only thing stopping you was his age and that his boss was your father. That scared you. So, you ran away and you met me, and it was fun. Real fun. But you don't love me. You like me maybe, but love… no."

"You're wrong!"

"I don't think so. We're missing that spark. That true connection. That feeling isn't there. For either of us.

"Not for you either?" How funny. Now he really looked upset. Like it would be okay if it had been one-sided?

"I'm sorry, Yoh."

"Fine. You don't have to apologize. I'm not sure why you didn't tell me this before."

"But you're the same way, Yoh. You love Takatsuki-san."

The priest was looking really confused as he held his evergreen branch in wait, and everyone else looked like they were wondering if they should say 'Kampai' and drink their sake.

"I'm sorry for wasting your time." Misaki bowed low to the priest.

"Are you sure you don't need to talk this over a bit more?"

"It's not going to help. Right, Miyagi-san?"

"Ah. Yes, uh… Misaki." The priest went away.

"Well. This is awkward. Too bad Takatsuki-san went to Australia. You could marry him instead."

"And lose my job right afterward. He's here, you know. Not Shinobu-chin, but the dean."

Misaki had thought he'd felt awkward the time he was in bed with a guy and his housemate walked right in on them at a very private moment, but this had to be the most awkward moment in his life.

Suddenly one of the guests pointed at Misaki. He didn't recognize the woman. She must have been from the Miyagi side.

"I think I have a message for you, Takahashi-san."

"For me?"

"Well. yes. It's a bit odd but it showed up in the wedding group in Line. I'm Yoh's third cousin by the way. My name is Namiki Nana. He says he's Usami Akihiko, which sounds familiar for some reason. Anyway, it says _If you are attending the wedding of Takahashi Misaki-" _

Multiple guests motioned to their Line app on their phones and all started talking at once. He decided not to focus on how Usagi-san had known how to join the group in the first place.

"So everyone can see this on Line? Let's check. We'll all say it out loud on a count of three. One two three:"

Suddenly a chorus of voices started reading off the email like they were reciting an important piece of literature or something.

"_If you are attending the wedding of Takahashi Misaki, please try and stop him. He's making a huge mistake. Please ask him to re-think it and at least not to sign anything." _

Misaki blinked and blinked and laughed nervously and frowned.

_I'll explain why. Takahashi Misaki is a gem that should be only with someone who treasures him. _

"_I ran out of time, which is why I turned to you for help. Please do anything you can to stop the wedding because it is a mistake. Thank you for your time." _

"What the hell? Who is this guy?" Yoh yelled out angrily.

"I'm going to respond!" Namiki-san stood up happily. "Alright. Let's see here. _How do you know this? Are you in love with Takahashi-san?_ I still think his name sounds familiar."

Another chorus of voices started explaining how Usami Akihiko was in the news and so on.

"I got a reply!" This Namiki -san needed to go into acting or something. "Let's see here. _I'm not sure whether I love him or how he feels about me." _

Well, of course. That hadn't been a surprise. Misaki knew all along everything he'd felt for Usagi-san had been lies. He was a caring human being who just didn't like seeing somebody make a mistake. And that's all there was to it.

"_What I do know is I'm constantly thinking about him. I wake up wondering how I can see him again or hear his voice. He's the one I want to be with._"

This should have been embarrassing and awkward. It was like they weren't in Japan anymore but in some surreal American musical. But he had been too busy thinking: _I'm constantly thinking about him. I wake up wondering when I'll see him again or if I'll hear his voice. He's the one I want to be with._

"Who is this guy?" Yoh. Mumbling to himself.

"Yes, Takahashi-san, who is this guy?" Kisa-san who was sounding almost as loud as Misaki and looking his usual nosy self. Well his nosy caring self.

"He's just some guy… I found his phone in the trash."

Because how could he describe Usagi-san?

Namiki-san yelled out again! "Oh! He says he's waiting outside!"

Eiji started whooping and yelling his name. Well, he'd always been a bit if a joker in high school.

_What?_

Without thinking twice, Misaki ran out of the hall and there he was standing so close to him, in front of his car. It had been hard to recognize him without the formal blouse vest and tie. He was wearing jeans and a light blue V-neck short-sleeve tee, and it wasn't that the business look didn't suit him but shit, he looked hot in casual wear.

And he had an audience.

"Wow. He's hot! Well, almost as hot as you, Yukina." Kisa-san smiled reassuringly at his lover.

"So, he really is _the _Usami Akihiko. Woah." Kirishima-san too?

"Misaki. You've surprised even me." Aikawa too? Oh. She handed him his phone.

He turned it on and sent a simple text.

_Hello Usagi-san._

_You're looking very lovely and ceremonial today._

_This? It's just something I threw together._

They were being ridiculous. Misaki could see Usagi-san type.

_So, did you get married and sign the papers?_

Misaki took a quick picture of his left finger and pressed send.

_My name is still Takahashi Misaki. I haven't been added to the Miyagi family record._

Misaki barely noticed the group of guests who had wandered out to check what was happening but Misaki concentrated on Usagi-san's face, he got the text; how his face went from one of concern to relief and that lovely smile. That smile was worth everything.

_Ah. Do you have time for coffee now?_

_I might be able to fit you into my packed schedule._

"Takahashi-kun?"

Misaki turned around to see Miyagi Rei looking at him with a contrite expression.

"I'm so sorry. I did not act honorable at all. Please forgive me." She bowed low to the ground. It took Misaki a moment to recognize what she was even talking about, before remembering. And it was hard to be that angry really. She had wanted Misaki in the family that much that she was willing to give away her favorite ring?

"I understand. You told Yoh-san to give me the ring so I would think he bought it just for me. Don't feel bad, but I guess I should return this to you too. It's a gorgeous ring. You should be wearing it."

"I wish you could have joined our family. But I should never have tried to force it." She turned and seemed to notice Usagi-san, who really needed to dress casual more often. "Is that him? The man who sent the messages? I think you should go and meet him."

"Ah! Yes. Uh, it's fine, Miyagi-Haha-san. Thank you." After a quick bow he ran off with this strange nervous feeling in his stomach, not to mention an arousal. Well it was Usagi's fault for looking so alluring in casual clothing.

"Usagi-san, you've been busy, I see."

"Maybe a little."

"How did you even get the contact information? From Takatsuki-san?"

"He seemed anxious to help me stop the wedding for some reason." Usagi-san raised his eyebrows like he was confused, and Misaki giggled.

"I thought he'd gone to Australia. How did you find him?"

"I think he's still in Tokyo. And he might be crashing the wedding too."

"He might as well. Maybe the lawyer can cross out my name and have him the sign the papers instead."

"Anyway, it wasn't difficult. He added me to the group, and I posted."

He bent down and whispered in Misaki's ear in a way he'd never done in a voice he'd never heard before. A low sexy voice.

"I feel so underdressed. You're there in that montsuki and here I am in jeans and a tee-shirt." He looked around and discreetly put a hand where he really shouldn't have and started stroking. "Nice. You're even wearing a fundoshi? Feels like you're enjoying my outfit?" Misaki gasped and fwapped him. Who knew that beneath that conservative businessman image there lay a complete hentai? Usagi-san chuckled and kept whispering in his ear. "I'm the same way. Completely pent up. Maybe we should skip coffee and go directly to dessert."

Misaki turned around to see a whole group of guests and was that Kisa-san and Eiji whooping together?

"What do you think they're waiting for?"

"I have no clue. Maybe for the gate crasher to kiss the groom?"

"I'm not going to kiss the groom. I'm going to kiss you: Misaki." As he said this Misaki felt himself be pulled into an embrace. _Usagi-san wasn't lying. He must be seriously pent up. And he's been endowed nicely too from the feel of it._ Then he blushed deeply. Meanwhile Usagi-san was still talking.

"I'm going to kiss the thief who pinched my phone."

"You make it sound like I'm a pickpocket! It was in the trash!"

"Oh, please. Semantics. You know you're rationalizing your bad behavior."

"And now I need to be punished?" Usagi-san raised an eyebrow.

"Oh? Is that how it is? You didn't tell me you were into kinky sex, although I think you mentioned you sometimes like to top. We'll have to have a conversation about that one."

"Really? Please don't tell me you're one of those guys who won't bottom ever. I'll make you change your mind."

"Yeah, yeah, yeah. 75:25."

"What?"

"75:25. That's probably the uke to seme ratio for you I'll have to back it up with some data analysis. Of course, first we gather the data. The hard data."

Misaki ignored his ridiculous 'hard data' joke. "Did you know I hate the terms 'uke' and 'seme'?"

"I had a feeling you might say that. Which terms do you like? Ah. You're athletic. Let's go with pitcher and catcher."

"I used to be catcher on my high school team."

"And Eiji-kun was pitcher?"

"Why don't you go over there and ask him?"

"You want me to gate-crash your wedding reception?"

"I don't know. Why not. There's good food's, and when's the last time you saw my brother?"

"There is that."

"I'll just send Yo-Miyagi-san a message."

_This is a little awkward right? But I'd like to spend some time at the reception and bring Usami-san with me. _

_If you really need to._

"30 minutes, Misaki. And then we have an appointment. A very important one." In a love hotel or his apartment by the looks of it.

Misaki smiled as they walked over. They still didn't know each other so well, but they had all the time to learn.

**THE END**

**Way back in chapter I don't know what, Misaki talks about wanting a traditional Shinto wedding and Yoh says Matsuo Basho would have had one. I should have researched Shinto weddings better, because now I read that they only started in the early 1870s and Basho lived in the mid to late 1600s. OOPS. So maybe Miyagi knew this and was just trying to reassure Misaki. Okay. I'm going with that. **

**And I'm just realizing the irony of Miyagi taking his pre-wedding trip to Seoul when relations between Japan and South Korea are at a major low right now. **

**Next up is an epilogue. [Which will not be happening in the end] **

**Thanks for reading! And thank you Nakimura Shungiku and Sophie Kinsella.**


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